Puer Magi Makoto Magica
by Dire Kumori
Summary: At a school like Hope's Peak, which exists to nurture the talents of young people in order to bring hope, it's only natural that a lot of people would gather with great magical potential. And one person in particular has Talent the likes of which has never been encountered before by our kind. One last contract, and we may never need to create another Magi ever again.
1. First Day of School

" _The massive high school towers over all other buildings in this bustling urban area. It's like the school stands at the center of the entire world._

" _Hope_ 's _Peak Academy... It brings in top students from every field imaginable. A government-funded school of privilege... They say if you come here and manage to graduate, you'll be set for life. With hundreds of years of tradition, it sends the cream of the crop into the work force every year. It was built to raise hope in the nation's future. Which makes Hope's Peak a pretty fitting name._

 _"There are two things you need to attend this school; one, you have to already be attending high school, and two, you have to be the very best at what you do. No ordinary student could enroll here. The only way in is if you're scouted by the school itself. And standing there at the gate of the ultimate school filled with the ultimate students... was poor, plain, utterly unimpressive Naegi-kun_!"

Naegi Makoto let out a weary sigh.

"Enoshima-san, why are you talking like that?" he asked, side-eyeing the pink-haired girl standing beside him. She flashed him a toothy grin and clapped her hands together.

"I'm talking narrator-style!" she replied cheerily. "That's my new obsession!"

"...Of course it is."

Although he'd only known her for a week, Makoto was quickly beginning to realize that Junko's personality was... erratic, to put it kindly. Still, she seemed nice enough. A part of him still couldn't believe that _Enoshima Junko_ was talking to _him_ ; that she had even approached him in the first place. Heaven knew he never would have worked up the courage to approach her on his own. Not outside of school, anyway. Her face was everywhere these days, plastered all over magazine covers and fashion journals. The Ultimate Fashionista. It was no wonder someone like her was attending this school for super elites.

"What are you doing here so early?" Makoto asked. Junko tilted her head, placing a hand on her chin in an exaggerated thinking pose.

"What? I'm here for the meeting us new students got invited to, duh! Don't tell me you forgot about it?"

"Of course not! It's just..." Makoto would have thought that Junko was the type to move at her own pace without regard for others. For her to show up a full hour early seemed unusual. A part of Makoto felt bad for making snap judgements like that.

"The only reason I'm here this early is because I got myself worked up and woke up before my alarm went off," Makoto admitted. "I wasn't expecting to see anyone else here yet."

Junko grinned.

"Yeah, to be honest I don't normally get up early if I don't have to. They make me get up _suuuuper_ early for my photo shoots 'cause of lighting and junk, so whenever I get a chance to sleep in I take it, ya know?" That was understandable, Makoto thought. "But I was excited to see what this so-called 'ultimate' school was like. I even ended up waking up before my early bird sister for once. I thought it would be funny to see her reaction to being the late one for once so I switched off her alarm before I left."

Junko was giggling madly. Makoto didn't think it was funny.

"You have a sister, Enoshima-san?"

"Yeah, a twin if you can believe it," Junko replied, waving her hand flippantly. "But you'd never believe it from looking at us. Mukuro's so tomboyish and plain. Plus, we don't look similar at all."

"She's not going to be late for anything because of your joke, right?"

"Pffft." Junko waved him off. "Mukuro's never late for anything. Just watch, I'll bet when we get inside she'll already be standing there waiting for me."

Makoto blinked. "Your sister's in our class?"

" _Duh!_ I said she's my twin, right? Of course she's starting school at the same time as me."

"No, I meant..." Ever since that letter had shown up in his mailbox Makoto had been scouring the internet for any information he could dig up in the seventy-eighth class. He'd seen a lot of strange names and talents - Ultimate Writing Prodigy, Ultimate Programmer, Ultimate Pop Sensation, Ultimate Baseball Star - but nowhere had he seen any mention of an Enoshima Mukuro.

"Yeah, she's an Ultimate too," Junko said, picking up on Makoto's meaning. "The Ultimate Soldier, if you can believe it."

Ultimate Soldier? "Like a military type of thing? For real?"

"More of a hired gun, but yeah, for real-real." Junko hummed and tapped her pointed red nail against her cheek. The look she was fixing Makoto with sent a chill down his spine. Her lips were pulled in a smile but her eyes were so cold. "She's been in hundreds of combat situations without ever receiving a scratch! Why? You got someone you want dead?"

"Of course not!" Makoto snapped almost too quickly. "I just thought it seemed strange. I mean, Ultimate titles for high school students, so that means she's only a high-schooler, right? It doesn't seem like a person like that could really exist."

Junko was still staring at him with that strange look. Slowly she lowered her hands and placed them on her hips, leaning closer to Makoto as though she planned to eat him.

"You'd be really surprised, Naegi-kun." Her eyes gleamed and her grin widened to the point that it seemed to split her face in half. "There's a lot of impossible things in this world. Maybe someday you'll get to see them all yourself."

And like that, as though someone had flipped a switch on her personality, Junko had gone back to normal. Well, 'normal' for her. She spun on her heel and skipped a few steps towards the school building.

"C'mon! We still have lots of time until the meeting time! Let's check out the school!"

She was suddenly running and Naegi realized that instant he was about to be left behind.

"W-wait for me!"

* * *

Together Makoto and Junko spent the next hour exploring their new school. Although classes hadn't yet started the building was still bustling with activity. The pair stuck out simply by being the only students there not wearing uniforms, yet they were never stopped or chastised. Many teachers and students even gave them friendly waves. As they explored the school Makoto and Junko made a game out of trying to guess their upperclassmen's talents, though Makoto suspected he was the only one seriously trying to guess.

"Ultimate Basketball Star?"

"Ultimate Bed Head."

"Um, Ultimate Gardener? Or maybe they'd use a word like 'Botanist'..."

"Ultimate Emo Kid."

"...Ultimate Sculptor?"

"Ultimate Bad Breath!"

Despite himself, Makoto let out a small burst of laughter and Junko grinned at him as he tried to fight it back.

"Enoshima-san, that's mean!"

"You laughed though!" she pointed out. "Hey, I think it's about time for that meeting. We should probably head back to the entrance hall before somebody yells at us."

Makoto made a halfhearted attempt at a protest as Junko grabbed his wrist and proceeded to drag him along behind her as she ran back towards the stairs. Makoto stumbled over his own feet clumsily as he tried to match her pace. How did she manage to move so fast while wearing high heels?

"E-Enoshima-san! Please slow down!" he cried out to no avail.

Suddenly they were at the top of a flight of stairs and Junko stopped on a dime, releasing Makoto's hand. Makoto, however, did not. Stop on a dime, that is. His arms flailed as he reached for something to grab onto to regain his balance and he wobbled just at the edge of the top step. A moment later he reeled back, heart hammering in his chest as he regained his footing.

He'd only just breathed a sigh of relief when Junko exclaimed, "Man! That was close!" and gave him a friendly slap on the back. A friendly slap that sent him flying down the stairs. Makoto tensed, bracing himself for the pain of an impact that never came.

For just a moment the world was a blur of color and motion and then as suddenly as it started it had stopped, and Makoto was keenly aware of the presence of another person holding his wrist to keep him from stumbling down those last few stairs.

"Are you alright, Naegi Makoto?"

"Huh?" Makoto blinked, staring up at the person who had saved him. It was a girl, around the same age as him and Junko, and like them she wasn't wearing a Hope's Peak Academy Uniform. A new student like them then? Her piercing grey-blue eyes were locked onto Makoto, sending an eerie chill down his spine.

"Oh, uh, yeah," he said, suddenly aware that he'd been staring and very much self-conscious, Makoto straightened so that he was standing on his own and the strange girl was no longer supporting his weight, though she still didn't release his wrist. "How did you know my name?"

The girl stared at him with an icy expression. Was she angry at him for nearly falling on top of her? He couldn't read her expression at all.

"Big sis?" Junko's voice sent a shock through Makoto, who had nearly forgotten she was there. The stranger's presence was strong enough to wipe nearly everything else from his mind. Junko frowned at the girl and placed her hands on her hips. "What are you doin' turning up so late?"

Makoto looked between them. Big sis? Her and Junko? They didn't look much alike- No, that wasn't entirely true. The strange girl had smaller eyes and more freckles, and her fashion sense was more... tame. But as he studied them Makoto realized they had similar facial structures and builds.

"I had something to take care of," Junko's sister replied. Her tone was perfectly cool, without the barest hint of emotion. Junko raised an eyebrow. "In any case, you both should get downstairs. It's almost time for our class to meet."

"Yeah, yeah," Junko sighed as she descended the steps. "Whatever. C'mon Naegi-kun."

Junko was acting strange, even for her. She seemed... put off somehow? The way she refused to so much as look at her sister as she passed them on the steps and the haughty way she stuck her nose in the air... Maybe the two had had a falling out recently. Makoto started to follow after her, but at that moment he felt her sister's fingers dig into his wrist painfully.

"Stay away from my sister," she hissed, so softly that Makoto could only just hear it but with enough ferocity to leave him stunned, before she abruptly released his wrist and strode off after Junko.

Makoto stared at the strange girl's back, eyes wide in bewilderment.

What... was that?

* * *

There were thirteen students gathered when Makoto, Junko, and Junko's sister - what did Junko say her name was again? - returned to the entrance hall. For a moment Makoto was able to forget all about Junko's sister and the strange intensity she radiated as he took in the colorful cast of characters before him. Any one of these people would have attracted stares just walking down the street but all gathered here together... Well, there was no doubt they were Ultimates. Not for the first time Makoto began to feel self-conscious about his extraordinary plainness. He was like a house cat who'd wandered into a pride of lions!

"Classmate Ikusaba-san!" A booming voice shouted over the crown and Makoto's attention snapped to a dark-haired boy wearing a very fancy white dress uniform. "I see you have returned with our missing classmates! You should be thankful she was kind enough to go looking for you! To be late on your first day of school is unspeakable!"

Makoto blinked and looked at the girl Junko had claimed to be her sister. Ikusaba-san? Not Enoshima-san?

"Geez, lighten up! We got here before anyone else showed up so we decided to look around a little," Junko insisted as she joined the crowd.

"It's fine," Ikusaba said. "We made it in time, after all."

"Hm, I suppose that's true," the dark-haired boy said, placing a hand on his chin. "Very well! I shall excuse it this once but do endeavor to be on time from now on!"

"Man, can you shut the hell up?" a gruff voice belonging to another student said. "You're giving me a headache."

Most people would have been too intimidated to respond. Makoto knew he would be. This student was tall and muscular with an orange punch perm and wore a long, black biker jacket. He looked like the kind of person who regularly got in trouble with the police.

Thinking back, Makoto was certain that he had read something about an Ultimate Biker Gang Leader on the Hope's Peak Forum the night before. So then, this must be...

"Oowada-san, I must ask you to refrain from using such vulgar language in a school environment!"

That's right. Oowada Mondo. He lead the biggest biker gang in all of Japan. Makoto was intimidated, but he was also impressed.

"Like hell I'm listening to you!" Mondo snarled. "Just 'cause you were class rep at your old school or whatever don't mean I gotta listen to anything you say!"

"Hey everyone! Just chill out!" This time the speaker was a girl wearing a red sports jacket and running shorts. She looked very... sporty. "There's no reason to be all hostile to people you've just met! Hey, since everyone's here now, why don't we do introductions?"

"That seems like a fine idea," yet another girl said and wow! Makoto took one look at her and couldn't stop staring. Her Gothic Lolita dress was certainly not something people usually wore on a day-to-day basis and she'd decided to wear it on her first day of school? Makoto wondered of those long twin drills were her real hair styled up or if they were part of the lace headband she was wearing. "It will certainly be very difficult to talk to one another if we do not know each other's names."

"That's a good idea," a boy said. He was tall and strong and almost regal looking, but also gentle.

"Okay, so why don't we go round and introduce ourselves one by one? That seems like the easiest way to go."

Makoto all but went starry-eyed at the sight of the most recent speaker. Even without her distinctive long blue hair, she would have been instantly recognizable as the famous pop singer Maizono Sayaka. In fact, Makoto had intended to go see one of her shows just a few months ago, but some... unfortunate circumstances had prevented it.

In any case, they made a good point. Makoto was sure some of them had already introduced themselves while he, Junko, and Ikusaba were missing, and he had already looked up most of his classmates online the night before, but even so he wanted to know what kind of people they really were. First off, the dark-haired boy with the dress uniform...

"I am Ishimaru Kiyotaka!" the dark-haired boy exclaimed before anyone else got a chance to speak. "I believe in bold simplicity! Let's work together on our educational crusade!"

Makoto recognized that name from the Hope's Peak forum. According to what Makoto had read the previous night, he went to a famous private school and won top honors every year. He was basically a flawless honor student. On top of that he was also well known for the work he did with the Public Morals Committee. Someone who respected rules above all else, what else would people call him other than the Ultimate Moral Compass?

Since he was standing right next to Ishimaru, Makoto decided to introduce himself next.

"My name is Naegi Makoto. Nice to meet you."

There really wasn't much else to say about himself.

Next up was a girl with long braids and a black sailor uniform.

"N-not that anyone will remember my n-name anyway, but... I-I'm Fukawa. T-Touko Fukawa."

Another name Makoto recognized. Touko had written her first book when she was only ten years old that got everyone talking and launched her literary career. Then two years ago she released "So Lingers the Ocean," a love story said to be her masterpiece. The book was such a hit that fishermen shot to the top of the list of every 'hottest men' poll. Despite her age, Fukawa had won numerous awards and every one of her books was an instant best seller. Which was why she had come to be known as the Ultimate Writing Prodigy. What else would you call such a young and talented author? Though, she was far from the lovey-dovey type Makoto had envisioned.

With everyone's eyes on her, it didn't take long for Touko to begin looking fidgety and uncomfortable. Just when she seemed to be on the verge of blowing up, Sayaka spoke up.

"Hi! I'm Maizono Sayaka! I look forward to getting to know you all!"

Even before he had seen her name on the forum, Makoto knew who Sayaka was. He listened to her on the radio all the time and watched all of her shows on TV. Her movements in real life were just as mesmerizing as they were when she was on stage. Well, she was the lead singer of a pop group famous all over Japan so it was no wonder she was so graceful. As the Ultimate Pop Sensation, Sayaka was high in demand to appear on TV and in magazines everywhere.

But Makoto didn't only recognize her from television. Not that he expected her to remember him, but...

Before he could finish that thought, a punkish-looking guy with spiky red hair spoke up.

"Yo! The name's Kuwata Leon! What's up?"

Leon had played for the national high school champs as their cleanup hitter. The Ultimate Baseball Star... Was this guy? From the looks on some of the other students' faces Makoto could tell they were thinking something similar. Leon looked more like he belonged in a rock band than on a baseball field. Makoto would have thought the Ultimate Baseball Star would be a more sporty-looking traditional baseball player type.

The next student cleared his throat and then all eyes were on a tall, fat student whose eyes were gleaming at them from behind his small, round glasses.

"I... am Yamada Hifumi. But if you want to call me by my nickname, The Alpha and the Omega, I don't mind! By the way, how much do you know about the world of 2D art?"

"Not now, Yamada!" the class chorused, cutting off the Ultimate Fanfic Creator before he could even get started. Makoto didn't remember seeing Hifumi's name on the forum. Based on their classmate's reactions, he was starting to wonder if there was a reason for that.

"Heya!" the next student called out in an energetic voice, snatching all attention away from Hifumi. It was the sporty girl from earlier. "I'm Asahina Aoi, but my friends just call me Hina! 'Sup?"

Hina was another popular topic on the Hope's Peak forum. She'd been breaking records in every competition she'd been in since elementary school. She'd even been chosen as an upcoming Olympic cadet. She was, without a doubt, the Ultimate Swimming Pro. The combination of her ability, her appearance, and her... proportions were widely discussed online.

The next person to speak was a tall, handsome boy wearing a dark green dress suit.

"Hello, nice to meet you. My name is Fujisaki Chihiro."

He was avoiding eye contact with everyone in the entrance hall, which seemed kind of strange to Makoto. Chihiro looked like he was about the same height and build as Mondo, but unlike the rough biker he seemed unbearably shy.

"Sorry, I get kinda embarrassed whenever I introduce myself like this," Chihiro explained, cheeks coloring the slightest bit. Makoto noticed the looks the girls were giving him and figured Chihiro was going to end up being popular with them.

Chihiro was known for all of the cutting edge programs he'd invented, earning him the title of Ultimate Programmer. Other than that, however, Makoto hadn't been able to find out much about him online. He would have thought someone whose talent revolved around using computers would have had a strong online presence, but that didn't seem to be the case with Chihiro.

And then it was Mondo's turn. Like Chihiro, the biker was avoiding eye contact, but it seemed less out of shyness and more to do with a general disinterest in the people around him.

"Name's Oowada Mondo. Nice to fuckin' meetcha," he growled. Well, not that anyone expected the leader of the biggest biker gang in Japan to be friendly.

Mondo had earned respect, even awe, from every gang in the country. He was the Ultimate Biker Gang Leader. Makoto made a mental note to watch his step around him.

Next in the line was another student whose face Makoto didn't recognize. It seemed odd that she of all people would be left out. Her long white hair and professional attire made her stand out, even among this group, and the expression on her face was one of bored indifference. It didn't seem like she was excited to be at Hope's Peak Academy at all.

"My name is... Kyouko Kirigiri," the mystery girl said. Makoto didn't recognize her name from anywhere, so she might not have been incredibly famous like Sayaka or Junko. As soon as her introduction was done Kyouko went back to watching the door, apparently uninterested in the rest of the students. It was probably a bad time to ask her about her talent.

"Hiiiiii!" a familiar bubbly voice snapped Makoto out of his thoughts. "I'm Enoshima Junko! Charmed I'm sure!"

Makoto still couldn't believe out of all of the people he could have run into a week before starting Hope's Peak, it was Enoshima Junko. The Ultimate Fashionista, she had more charm and presence than any high school girl in the country. Although he'd seen her on a ton of magazine covers, there was still so much of Junko those photos didn't capture.

"I am Oogami Sakura."

For a very brief moment Makoto thought that the next student was a man, but then he registered her name and the fact that she was wearing a girl's sailor uniform and sent her a silent apology in his head. Sakura was a tall, powerful woman, all covered in scars with long white hair that fell down to her lower back. She had competed in a martial arts tournament in America and wiped the floor with all of the other competitors. The Ultimate Martial Artist who'd fought in over four hundred matches and never lost a single one.

The rest of what the forum had said about Sakura had been less than kind. Mainly rude comments about her appearance.

After Sakura's brief introduction was yet another student in a green dress suit, though there was a clear difference in the quality of Chihiro's suit and this one's. He was smaller and leaner than Chihiro as well, though Makoto still felt short by comparison.

"Name's Togami Byakuya," he said dismissively, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose as he proceeded to ignore everyone present.

Whereas Sakura's introduction had been direct, Byakuya's seemed... half-assed. Not that there was anything anyone could do about it. Even among Ultimate students, Byakuya was special. He was the heir apparent of his family's massive financial conglomerate. Though he was still a high school student, he'd already started managing business operations, and his own personal assets were vast. There was no one more deserving of the title of Ultimate Affluent Progeny. Byakuya Togami was the definition of 'exceptional.'

The exact opposite of Makoto.

Thankfully, before Makoto's thoughts could turn too negative, the next student spoke up. He was an older, scruffy looking man with wild hair and unkempt clothes. He flashed a friendly smile as he introduced himself.

"I'm Hagakure Yasuhiro, Hiro for short! Take it easy, yeah? I know I will!"

Hiro was known as the 'Supernova' in the psychic community. The trendsetting Ultimate Clairvoyant. Though, Makoto would freely admit he didn't really understand fortune-telling. It was beyond him. Even so, he wondered if there was any truth to Hiro's abilities.

Second-to-last was the girl in the Gothic Lolita dress. She smiled and gave them a curtsy.

"I am Celestia Ludenburg. It is a pleasure to meet all of you." Makoto was sure he wouldn't be able to repeat her name. As though responding to his thoughts, she giggled and said, "But please, do call me Celeste."

There was no way that was her real name, but then, according to the rumors Makoto had read about her online, he doubted she would ever tell him what her real name was. The self-styled 'Celestia Ludenburg ' was the Ultimate Gambler who had never lost a bet. Aside from her very obvious fashion preferences, everything about her was wrapped in a veil of lies. She had even earned the nickname 'Queen of Liars' after she entered an underground gambling tournament and won. She completely cleaned out the other players, laughing as she stripped them of their life savings.

And finally, there was Junko's older sister.

"My name is Ikusaba Mukuro," she said in a calm, cool tone. "Nice to meet you."

At a first glance, Makoto would have thought Mukuro was cool. She may not have been as flashy as her sister, but she seemed collected and mysterious and polite. But he couldn't help remembering that strange encounter with her that morning - the feel of her nails digging into his skin - and shuddering. Suddenly her piercing gaze was on him and Makoto couldn't help it; he flinched. Her eyes remained locked on him for a moment but then they returned to staring off into space. Even then Makoto couldn't let out a sigh of relief. Had he done something to piss off the Ultimate Soldier?

"Naegi-kun?" Sayaka's soft voice snapped him out of his stupor. "Are you okay?"

"Y-yeah, I'm fine," he insisted. After all, he hadn't met Mukuro before that morning. What could he have possibly done to anger her? He was sure he was just imagining things.

"Nicely done. I was going to have you all introduce yourselves, but it looks like there's no need for that now."

In unison all of the students' eyes turned towards the door to find a middle aged man wearing a sharp suit in a relaxed fashion smiling at them.

"My name is Kirigiri Jin, headmaster of Hope's Peak Academy. It is my pleasure to formally welcome you to our school."

Makoto blinked. Kirigiri? He turned his eyes to Kyouko, but nothing on her expression betrayed any sort of relationship with this man. She was watching him, yes, but so were all of the other students, and her face was completely blank.

"As all of you may know-"

The hairs on the back of his neck were prickling. Makoto got the feeling he was being stared at, but he was afraid of what he would find if he turned around.

"-founded for the sake of fostering-"

But the feeling was just growing stronger and stronger. To the point that he couldn't help throwing a nervous glance over his shoulder.

"-tools to succeed-"

She was staring at him again. Mukuro's eyes were narrowed dangerously and something about her stance made Makoto think she was ready to pounce at any moment.

"-brighter future for all of mankind-"

A trickle of sweat rolled down his cheek as he tore his eyes away from her, but even though he was back to facing the headmaster he couldn't force himself to pay attention.

"-present you with-"

Kirigiri Jin's words were a dull buzz in the back of his mind, and Mukuro's eyes digging into his back were at the front, consuming all of his attention. There was no mistaking it now. She really was focusing on him.

"-on you at all times-"

He couldn't recall ever meeting her before, but even so something about her seemed familiar. Had he met her after all, and just forgotten? Makoto thought he would have remembered someone as intense as her...

"-to. Naegi Makoto?"

Makoto's cheeks heated up suddenly as he realized the headmaster had been saying his name over and over again and he had been too lost in his own head to realize it.

"Y-yes!" he called out a bit too forcefully, drawing stares and snickers from his new classmates.

"Ah..." Even the headmaster seemed taken aback by Makoto's sudden outburst. "Please come retrieve your e-Handbook. As I said, it will be vital for your school life. Please make sure you keep it on you at all times."

"Oh, uh, right."

Makoto's cheeks were scarlet as he stepped forward to accept his student handbook. The headmaster gave him a questioning look that bordered on concern but Makoto just accepted his handbook with a smile before going back to join the group. From there the headmaster continued calling names and passing out handbooks without any more interruptions, and then when the last person had received theirs...

"Alright, now please follow me to the gym for the entrance ceremony. I hope I don't need to remind you all to be on your best behavior. It's true that in many ways Hope's Peak Academy is more relaxed than other high schools, but that doesn't mean you won't be expected to work hard, understood?"

There was one loud booming 'YES, HEADMASTER' from Ishimaru along with a chorus of 'yes's and 'yeah's from the other students. Makoto hesitated as the others started to walk away, his feet feeling like they were stuck to the floor. Then he felt a presence at his side and a hand firmly pat him on the back.

"C'mon Naegi-kun," Junko said. Her expression and tone were as friendly as usual, but she seemed a little strained. "You don't wanna get left behind, do you?"

He shook his head and let Junko lead him away. The entire time he could feel eyes burning holes in the back of his head.

* * *

Makoto could feel Mukuro's glare still on him as he and Junko took their seats next to each other in the gym. Their class got to claim the seats near the front of the gym while the classes above them took the rows behind them. Junko insisted that Makoto sit next to her. He wondered if she wouldn't rather sit next to her sister.

"...That isn't my sister," Junko snarled suddenly, expression twisting into something ugly. "I don't know who the hell that was, but it sure as fuck ain't Mukuro!"

Makoto stared at her.

"Enoshima-san?"

"Mukuro isn't like that!" Junko insisted. "She's all shy an awkward and, yeah she's bad ass in a fight, but stick her in a room full of normal people and she's a stuttering, bumbling mess! She doesn't say 'nice to meet you' or act all cool or tell me what to do! That. Wasn't. Mukuro!"

No one would know Mukuro better than her own sister, but even so...

"Maybe she's just mad at you for shutting off her alarm this morning?" Makoto suggested, though the explanation sounded weak, even to him. Junko's pink pigtails slapped him in the face with how hard she was shaking her head.

"No. Mukuro doesn't get mad at me. Not ever." She turned to face Makoto head on, eyes glistening. "So I'm gonna find out who that freak is and what she's done with my real sister."

Makoto continued to stare at her. Junko seemed really hurt by Mukuro's strange behavior. Even more so than Makoto was. Well, Makoto knew he would be worried if his sister one day woke up and started acting like a completely different person. He supposed he could sympathize.

"Hey, is someone sitting here?"

Both Makoto and Junko looked up in unison to see Maizono Sayaka standing in front of them.

"Do you mind if I sit here?" she asked, smiling at them sweetly as she indicated the empty seat beside Makoto.

"N-not at all!" Makoto replied, cheeks warming slightly. She giggled as she took her seat. Up close Makoto could smell the delicate scent of her perfume. She was incredibly beautiful, just like a doll.

"I'm not a doll, you know. I'm alive."

Makoto's cheeks were now aflame. "D-did I say that out loud?"

Sayaka's expression went serious.

"I'm psychic."

Then she giggled.

"Just kidding! I just have really good intuition."

Makoto stared at her blankly while on his other side Junko burst into giggles.

"Hey Naegi-kun, careful or you'll start drooling!" she said through her giggles. Makoto's mouth snapped shut. "Hey, you seem pretty cool. You're that idol whose famous all over Japan, right?"

"That's right!" Sayaka replied. "And you're the amazing fashion designer who also models her own clothes, right? I'm a big fan of your work!"

"Oh stop!" Junko said as she clapped her hands over her cheeks as though to hide a blush.

"No, it's true! I even wore some of your designs on my last tour!"

"Now I'm all aflutter!"

They were talking over him now, but Makoto didn't mind. Junko seemed like she was in a much better mood now.

"So, Naegi-kun, how do you and Enoshima-san know one another?"

Oh, he was being pulled back into the conversation again!

"Eh, some stuff happened and we kind of ended up running into each other," he said, earning a snort from Junko.

"That's putting it mildly!"

Sayaka's eyes widened.

"Now I really want to know the story behind it!"

As they continued to talk Makoto became aware of the sound of whispers coming from behind them. He was pretty sure he recognized one of the voices as Leon's.

" _Dude, is that guy sitting next to Enoshima Junko and Maizono Sayaka? Lucky!_ "

" _Well, that kid is the Ultimate Luckster, after all._ "

It was weird to think people were whispering about him. Thankfully at that moment they heard the screech of the microphone coming online, and the hum of the students' whispering fell silent. As the headmaster stepped up and started his opening statement Junko leaned forward in her seat, hand cupped around her mouth.

" _Let's all hang out later_ ," she whispered, earning small nods from Makoto and Sayaka.

* * *

The classrooms in Hope's Peak were really nice. Way nicer than the ones from his old school. Makoto took his seat at a wooden desk and Junko and Sayaka did the same on either side of him. Again, Makoto found himself the subject of someone's glaring, but this time it wasn't Mukuro. Kuwata Leon was fixing him with a sour look and Makoto could only imagine he was jealous.

Makoto felt a little bad. It probably would have been easy enough for the baseball star to simply say hello and make friends with them like Makoto had, but he was pretty sure what Leon was imagining was much different from how things really were.

Their homeroom teacher was really strange too. She introduced herself as Taresawa Rui, an alumni of Hope's Peak Academy. The former Ultimate Tutor. No wonder she later became a teacher at her own school!

Time seemed to race by in a blur and trickle along slowly at once. The set up of this school was strange. Attendance wasn't mandatory so long as they continued to nurture their talents. Makoto had no idea what that would mean in his case, so he decided he would stick to attending class for the time being. Based on Ishimaru's outburst at that bit of information he doubted anyone in their class would have been able to get away with skipping anyway.

Already Makoto could see his classmates beginning to split off and form their own groups. Hina and Sakura were already talking about their exercise routines and making plans to work out together. Mondo and Ishimaru were nose to nose as Ishimaru fought to keep Mondo from leaving the classroom. Hiro, Leon, and Chihiro were all gathered around Chihiro's desk chatting about all the cute girls in class. Kirigiri and Togami were sitting next to one another, not really talking but simply silently enjoying one another's company. Maybe 'enjoying' wasn't the right word. 'Tolerating' might have been a better fit. Behind them Touko and Hifumi were arguing about the merit of fan fiction versus original works, seemingly oblivious of their volume or the presence of the other students around them. Celeste was sitting nearby, sipping on a cup of tea she had bullied Hifumi into making for her earlier. And then there was Makoto himself along with Junko and Sayaka.

The only person who hadn't grouped up with anyone was Mukuro. Fearful of getting caught, Makoto chanced a quick peek at her and found her occupied with a book.

Makoto almost let out a sigh of relief when he realized she wasn't glaring at him anymore.

"So, Naegi-kun, are you going to tell me how you and Enoshima-san met?"

"Sure, but it's not really as exciting as Enoshima-san made it out to be," he explained. "It was really just an accident. One of my shoes comes untied a lot and it flew off my foot while I was walking down the street one day. Someone accidentally kicked it and when I chased after it I ended up running into someone who was running in the opposite direction."

"Enoshima-san?" Sayaka asked. Both Junko and Makoto shook their heads in unison.

"See, while Naegi-kun was running around chasing his shoe, some jerk had grabbed my bag and run off with it. I was chasing the jerk, but he was a lot faster than me. Then who should show up but this adorable klutz who'd lost his shoe!"

"Wow!" Sayaka clasped her hands together in amazement. "What an amazing coincidence!"

"To be honest, I was a little scared of Enoshima-san at first," Makoto admitted. "She was really furious at that guy who stole her bag!"

Balling her hands up into fists, Junko stood up abruptly from her seat, nearly knocking her chair over. "Whaddya mean by that?!"

Makoto leaned back and put his hands up in a disarming gesture while Sayaka laughed at the outburst.

"Hey! Naegi-chi!" Makoto's head snapped out at the sound of Hiro's voice. The Ultimate Clairvoyant didn't seem to have any reservations about climbing over the desks to get to Makoto and wrap his arm around the smaller boy's shoulders. "You ladies mind if I borrow 'im for a minute? We got something we wanna ask him!"

"By all means," Sayaka said, ignoring Makoto's silent plea for help.

"Don't break him!" Junko added, making Makoto's apprehension grow worse.

"Alright then!" Hiro dragged an unwilling Makoto out of his seat. "Don't worry Naegi-chi! We ain't gonna bite ya!"

"B-but-!"

His protest went ignored as he was dragged away. Sayaka and Junko continued to smile at him until he was gone.

"You're not thinking of getting him involved, are you?" Sayaka asked, voice cold but expression still kind. Nobody else was paying attention to hers and Junko's conversation at that moment, but even so she kept her voice soft.

"Are you kidding? You can feel it too, right? He's gonna get chosen sooner or later. It's just a matter of time." She gave Sayaka a toothy grin. "Why? Scared of the competition?"

"Of course not." Sayaka's eyes narrowed the slightest bit, but she never dropped that friendly smile. "If he really is chosen, I'll back down. But I can't approve of you trying to get an ordinary person involved."

Junko's head lolled back as she tossed a glance over her shoulder to watch Makoto as he was pestered by the boys in class who were trying to figure out how he had so quickly befriended two of the most popular girls in class.

"I know he ain't impressive to look at but..."

The ring on her finger gleamed.

"There's something about that kid. He's not 'ordinary." Makoto suddenly turned and saw her staring at him. Junko smiled and flashed him a peace sign as he started to head back over.

"What did they want to talk to you about, Naegi-kun?" Sayaka asked as he rejoined them. He laughed sheepishly and scratched the back of his head.

"Well, they saw me sitting with you guys and must have misunderstood the situation, because they were asking me for dating advice."

" _Whaaaaaaaaaaat_?" Junko cried out in an incredulous tone. "From an omega male like you?"

Makoto pulled out his chair and sat back down. "I tried to explain to them that they were mistaken, but they wouldn't listen. I guess we're hanging out this Sunday?"

"It's wonderful that they want to be your friends," Sayaka said. "Maybe we can tag along?"

Junko shot that idea down before Makoto could respond.

"Uh, I think this is more of a 'boys' day out' kinda thing."

"Oh, then perhaps another time then."

"We can still hang out and stuff while we're at school," Junko said. "I have a lot going on in the afternoons and on weekends. Ya know, fashion stuff. But since classes here are so chill we still get plenty of time to hang out."

"That's true," Sayaka replied. "There's also holidays."

"Are you guys really that busy?" Makoto asked. They may have been Ultimates, but they were still high-schoolers.

"Yes. Even when we're not performing, my group and I have to spend a lot of time rehearsing and recording and other things. It's fun, but it's also a lot of hard work."

"I see..."

Makoto didn't doubt Junko also put a lot of time and effort into her career. His classmates really were something else. He had no idea what he was going to do after high school. That was part of the reason he had accepted the invitation in the first place; to ensure he had a secure future. Junko and Sayaka were different, however. They already knew what they were going to do. He couldn't help but be a little jealous.

"It's not so bad, you know," Sayaka said suddenly. "Since you don't know what you're going to become in the future, that means you have the freedom to decide that for yourself!"

"What?" Makoto blinked. "How did you-"

He face went solemn again.

"I'm psychic."

Then she giggled.

"Just kidding. I just have really good intuition!"

"If you keep that up you're gonna give poor Naegi-kun a heart attack!" Junko teased as she poked Makoto's cheek.

"I'm not that fragile," Makoto protested as he gently batted Junko's hand away from his face. She just giggled at his reaction.

"What I'm trying to say is," Sayaka started, "you don't need to worry about your future. You're fine just the way you are."

Makoto stared at Sayaka. He couldn't tell if there was supposed to be some deeper meaning behind her words, or if she was just trying to spare his feelings. Even so, he couldn't help feeling the tiniest bit better.

"Th-thank you."

He didn't notice Junko's smile drop the slightest bit behind him.

* * *

The morning was dedicated to taking measurements for their school uniforms. Since Makoto had been zoning out earlier, Junko explained that each of them would be receiving a custom-made uniform from the Ultimate Tailor, which they would be able to pick up the following Saturday. He didn't understand how one person could make uniforms for each and every new student in one week, but when he asked Junko just laughed at him. He supposed that was as much of an explanation as he was going to get.

Junko also informed him that they would be allowed to make slight personal customization to their uniforms. She was already excited about that, talking aloud about all the modifications she was going to make.

"Maybe I should get you to do my uniform too!" Sayaka half-joked as Junko went on. Makoto considered asking her to alter his uniform as well, but then decided against it. The standard uniform suited him just fine.

Makoto felt awkward getting his measurements taken. Especially since he was so small and unimpressive compared to the rest of his male classmates. The Ultimate Tailor took one look at him and raised an eyebrow before asking him what grade he was in. Makoto could feel his pride shattering and was glad Junko and Sayaka weren't around to hear that.

Luckily for him, he was one of the first to get his measurements taken and the process was over rather quickly. Unluckily Junko and Sayaka still had a long time to wait, as they were at the very back of the girls' line. So when he was turned loose he didn't really have anything to do. Although the three of them had agreed to eat lunch together they still had over an hour until then, and Makoto wasn't sure how long it would be before his friends were done getting their measurements taken.

Their teacher had made herself conspicuously absent as well, though she'd left a note on the chalkboard specifically stating that Ishimaru was to be in charge during her absence. At first it seemed like a good idea, but then Mondo reentered the classroom, saw the message, and all hell broke loose.

While Mondo and Ishimaru were busy fighting, Leon took the opportunity to slip away. Chihiro had sequestered himself in the corner of the room and looked like he was about to burst out in tears. Strange, for such a tough-looking guy. Makoto thought about trying to sneak away as well, but doubted he'd be able to slip by Ishimaru with the ease Leon had.

Soon enough the door opened again and another student rejoined the class, her intense presence filling up the room and bringing an instant end to Ishimaru's and Mondo's fight.

Even they couldn't seem to stand up to Mukuro's sharp gaze.

"Naegi Makoto," she said, her soft voice cutting through the silence like a blade, "Taresawa-sensei is looking for you. Please come with me."

The combination of her words and her intensity left Makoto frozen. Their teacher was looking for him? For what? He couldn't imagine he'd done something already to get himself in trouble, but he couldn't begin to guess what else Taresawa would have been looking for him for.

"O-kay," he replied after a moment, when his voice finally came back to him. The room remained silent until Makoto left the room and Mukuro closed the door behind him. Almost immediately they could hear the beginnings of another fight.

"Follow me," Mukuro ordered. She didn't even look at him as she started walking down the hallway, but even so Makoto got the feeling that she would have noticed if he didn't obey.

Once again the pair traveling through the school found themselves the subject of numerous stares. Unlike the case with himself and Junko, however, Makoto noticed none of the students had that starstruck expression that hit everyone who noticed Junko for the first time. Rather, these students seemed to have their breath stolen away. Indeed, Mukuro seemed to project an aura that was impossible to ignore. She looked so sure of herself, like she was the most powerful being in the room at any given time and she was well aware of it. Maybe it was because she was the Ultimate Soldier, but Makoto didn't get that same feeling from Sakura, the Ultimate Martial Artist.

"So, uh..." The silence between them was wearing on Makoto's nerves, but he was struggling to think of anything to say to her. Then he remembered something odd about their encounter that morning. "H-how did you know my name? This morning on the stairs, I mean. We hadn't introduced ourselves yet, so..."

He trailed off awkwardly, and she remained silent. For several moments Makoto thought she might be ignoring him.

"Junko mentioned you." Oh! She wasn't ignoring him after all! But why did she wait so long to answer? "She told me about how you two met."

That made sense. Junko and Mukuro were sisters, after all. That reminded Makoto of another question he'd wanted to ask, though now that he remembered it he wished he'd thought to ask Junko earlier.

"I wouldn't have guessed you and Enoshima-san are sisters. You, uh, you seem pretty different. How come you have different last names?"

This time Mukuro answered much more quickly.

"We chose our own names for ourselves."

They... chose their own names? That sounded really strange. Maybe he should ask Junko about it later.

As they walked Makoto found himself struggling to recall if he'd been that way before. It didn't look like part of the school he and Junko had seen when they were exploring together, and he was pretty sure they'd already passed the stairs.

"Um, Ikusaba-san-"

"Call me Mukuro."

Makoto's steps faltered for a moment. Just like that, with no warning whatsoever, she wanted him to use her first name?

"Okay, Mukuro... san." He couldn't bring himself to drop the honorific. "Are you sure this is the right way to the staff room?"

"It isn't."

"Oh. Is Taresawa-sensei waiting for us somewhere else?"

Another long pause.

"She isn't waiting for us," Mukuro confessed. "I lied."

"Eh?" Makoto stopped mid-step. "Why would you...?"

All at once he became acutely aware of the lack of other students around. He didn't know what part of the school this was, but the hallway was devoid of any people besides him and Mukuro. The shadows seemed to stretch longer and darker than elsewhere in the building, giving the hall an eerie atmosphere. Mukuro had gone almost completely still, her face hidden by the shadows. Makoto's heart hammered in his rib cage.

"Naegi Makoto, do you value the life you live? Do you consider your family and friends important to you?"

"O-of course I do!" Where was she getting at with this? Was this some sort of test? "I love my family. And my friends. And I love my life the way it is."

Slowly, Mukuro turned around. The shadows fell away so he could finally see her face, but even so he couldn't read her expression.

"Is that true?"

"Of course it is! Why would I lie?"

She studied his face for a moment, as though searching for some trace of a lie in his expression.

"That's good." She seemed to relax, though only marginally. "In that case, don't try to change anything about yourself. You're fine just the way you are."

And with that she turned her back on him once again and stalked off, leaving a stunned Naegi Makoto alone in the hallway, wondering exactly what that had been about.

* * *

It took Makoto a long time to find his way back to the classroom. By the time he had, it was just about time for lunch to start. Sayaka and Junko ran into him just outside the classroom and dragged him away before Ishimaru could interrogate him about his tardiness. And then as soon as they were safe from their overbearing classmate and seated together with their lunches in the school cafeteria, Sayaka and Junko began an interrogation of their own.

"So where'd you run off to, Naegi-kun? You're not trying to avoid us now, are you?" Junko asked as she pulled her chopsticks apart.

"No, nothing like that," Makoto assured her. "I, uh, went somewhere with Iku-" Should he call her that? She had asked him to use her first name, after all, but Makoto wondered how Junko would react to hearing him call her sister by her first name after insisting that the person he'd run into wasn't Mukuro. "Ikusaba-san."

Junko's chopsticks froze halfway to her mouth.

" _What?_ "

There was a note of hostility in her voice that had the hairs on the back of Naegi's neck raising.

"Ikusaba-san seems so mysterious, doesn't she?" Sayaka commented. "What did she want to talk to you about?"

Makoto fiddled with his chopsticks as he spoke. He told them everything he could remember of his encounter with Mukuro, from her lying about their homeroom teacher wanting to talk to him to her insisting he use her first name to her cryptic warning. The entire time Sayaka and Junko stared at him with wide eyes.

"First she was actin' weird this morning and now she's stalking and threatening my friends? What the hell Mukuro? What's wrong with you today!?" Junko cried as she slammed her head down on the table. Sayaka stared at her in confusion. Sensing eyes on her, Junko looked up and added, "Oh yeah, Mukuro's my big sis, by the way."

"Really?" Sayaka tilted her head to the side. "I never would have guessed."

Sitting up straight, Junko fixed her eyes on Makoto. "Is that all she said to you? Was there anything else?"

"No, that was it," Makoto replied, shaking his head. "But, now that I think about it..."

"What? Now that you think about it what?" Junko was leaning forward in her seat.

"I'm not sure. For a moment I thought Ikusaba-san seemed kind of familiar, but I'm not sure why."

"Is it possible you've met somewhere before?" Sayaka asked. Makoto shook his head.

"I think I would have remembered someone like her if I had met her before," he pointed out.

"Maybe not," Junko argued. "She wasn't always like this."

Sayaka stared at Junko. "What do you mean?"

"Well-" Junko started playing with her hair, "-just yesterday I remember her being her normal, gloomy self. She's always been really shy, and awkward as hell. Mukuro hates it when people stare at her and usually stutters and blushes when they do. This 'calm and cool' thing she's got going on is totally new to her! I mean like, a complete one-eighty, overnight transformation!"

Makoto blinked, processing Junko's words. "So that's why you said 'that's not my sister' earlier..."

Junko nodded and then began shoveling food in her mouth. She continued to talk even as she was chewing. "Anyway, I don't think it's likely you guys have met but, hey, ya never know!"

"If they have met," Sayaka said thoughtfully, "it would explain why Ikusaba-san kept staring at Naegi-kun all day."

Both Makoto and Junko stared at her. Makoto because he was surprised she had noticed. Junko because she hadn't.

"What was that?"

"You didn't notice?" Sayaka asked. "She was staring at Naegi-kun the entire time we were introducing ourselves."

"What, really?" She fixed Makoto with an appraising eye. "I didn't think you were her type. Then again, I didn't think she _had_ a type!"

"So what do you think, Naegi-kun? Do you think it's possible you might have met Ikusaba-san before?"

Makoto wracked his brain, but couldn't think of an instance when he might have meet the Ultimate Soldier. "No, I can't remember ever meeting her."

"Oh man, I don't wanna hafta see the look on her face when I break it to her," Junko half-joked, but Makoto wasn't really paying attention. He was still wrapped up in his thoughts about Mukuro.

Their conversation was suddenly interrupted by a cheerful, bouncy pop song ringing out over their table. Sayaka reached into her pocket and withdrew a cell phone. The song fell silent as she raised it to her ear.

"Yes? This is Maizono Sayaka. Oh!" She lowered the phone and placed her hand over the mouthpiece. "I'm sorry, I have to take this."

"It's fine," Makoto said. She flashed him a smile before standing and walking away from the table.

"Yes, I can make that. No, you don't have to..."

Makoto lost track of the conversation as she got further away, but it cemented in his mind that Sayaka was indeed incredibly busy and also incredibly hard-working.

"Hey, Naegi-kun, you wanna hang out after school?"

"Eh?" Makoto turned to Junko. "Aren't you usually busy in the afternoons?"

She waved her hand flippantly. "Usually, but even I get days off every once in a while. 'Sides, I need to find out what's up with my sister and you're gonna help me!"

This couldn't have been going anywhere good.

"What? Why me?"

"Because I told you too!" Junko replied with a wide grin splitting her face. "And also 'cause I think your talent might come in handy. I mean, it's not like it's gonna be easy tailing the Ultimate Soldier."

"My talent? You mean luck? B-but it's not really a talent! Just 'cause I have that title doesn't mean I'm really lucky!"

"You sure about that? It was pretty lucky the way you stopped that thief and ran into me of all people."

"That was just a coincidence, wasn't it?"

"Or maybe there really is something to this luck thing! Besides, if I'm right and an imposter really did replace my sister, are you really gonna let me face her all alone?"

Makoto's shoulders sagged in defeat. No. No he wasn't. He was starting to think he might have a talent for luck after all. Just... not good luck.

"Alright. I'll help you."

Junko beamed.

"Of course you will! An omega male like you can't say no to someone like me, right?"

Although he knew she was just teasing him, Makoto felt like there was something predatory in her smile. It was at that moment that Sayaka returned from her phone call and took her seat at the table.

"Sorry about that," she said as she smoothed out her skirt. "That was my manager. He wanted to ask if he could move up my schedule a little, so I won't have any free time after school today."

"Man, that sucks," Junko said. "Oh well! Just means I get Naegi-kun all to myself for an afternoon!"

Maybe he imagined it, but Makoto could have sworn he saw Sayaka's smile falter for just a moment.

"You two are spending the afternoon together?"

"Junko wants me to help her find out why her sister's acting so strange," Makoto replied. Maybe he wasn't imagining it after all. Did Sayaka look relieved?

"I see. Well, I hope it turns out to be nothing serious."

"Don't worry," Junko said. "If it turns out some kind of criminal mastermind's impersonating Mukuro I'll pound 'em into dust! Right Naegi-kun?"

Sayaka and Makoto laughed, earning an indignant squawk from Junko and starting a playful argument between the three. From there their conversation topics switched to more mundane things. By the time the bell rang signaling the start of afternoon classes Makoto had almost completely forgotten about Ikusaba Mukuro.

* * *

Sayaka had to excuse herself from class early in order to make it to her appointment. When the bell rang to signal the end of classes today Junko and Makoto immediately paired up and started to leave together, only for Junko's cell phone to suddenly go off.

"Aw geez, are you kidding me?" she complained. "Hey, sorry Naegi-kun, I gotta take this."

He would admit, he was a little sad, but Makoto could understand. "You're super busy too, huh?"

"Don't worry, I'm not gonna blow you off," she promised. "Let me just deal with this, and then we can hang out. You remember that fountain in front of the school? Meet me down there, okay? I'll come as soon as I'm done with this guy."

"Sure thing!"

It was nice that Junko was trying to make time for him. He knew that her main concern was trying to figure out the cause of her sister's strange behavior, but even so it was nice to think that she enjoyed his company. Even a little.

There were a few students milling about when Makoto arrived at the fountain, but none of them paid any particular attention to him. There was a bench by the fountain and a single person sitting on it. A young girl around his age with her face buried in a handheld video game system. She didn't react at all when Makoto sat down on the opposite end of the bench from her, or when, after spending several minutes staring at the school building, he eventually turned his head to see what game she was playing.

Time passed. The sun began to sink lower in the sky and still Junko had not appeared. Makoto pulled out his cell phone and scrolled to Junko's name in his contacts, but couldn't bring himself to call her. Maybe her phone call was just taking longer than she'd thought it would. Or maybe this was another one of her 'jokes' like the ones she said she and her sister played on each other all the time.

Or...

The final theory made his chest ache.

Or maybe she'd completely forgotten about him. It wouldn't be all that surprising, in his opinion.

 _((Help me... Please.._.))

Makoto blinked, and stared at the girl sitting next to him.

"Did you say something?"

"No," she replied without even looking up from her video game. There was no one else around anymore, so did he imagine it?

 _((Somebody... I need someone to... to save me...))_

There it was again, and this time Makoto was certain he hadn't imagined it. The voice itself was unusual; rough and kind of gravelly, but also strangely childlike in a way. And the fact that he hadn't heard it through his ears, but rather reverberating through his head just made it all the stranger.

 _((Someone... Anyone... Save me...))_

He stood abruptly, and for the first time the girl tore her eyes away from her video game to look at him.

"What's wrong?" she asked in a soft voice.

"Ah, nothing, I just need to use the bathroom," he lied. "Uh, if you see a girl with pink pigtails come over here, can you let her know I'll be right back?"

The girl gave him a brief nod and an 'mm-hmm' before turning back to her game. She didn't comment on the fact that he was walking away from the school building and not towards it. Makoto felt a little bad he was running off like this, but he didn't want to bother texting Junko 'I heard a voice in my head' and have her question his sanity. If it was nothing then he would just come back and pretend nothing happened. If not... Well, he'd have to figure out what that weird voice was before he could make any decisions about that.

The voice continued to call out in between brief pauses, but Makoto noted it was sounding weaker and weaker. Whoever it was must have been in serious trouble and he couldn't just ignore that. As he ran down the street he got the impression that he was getting closer to the source of the voice, but nobody else seemed to react to it. In fact, most of the people around seemed content to ignore him. That was fine. He wasn't sure how he would manage to explain to anyone that he was following a voice in his head.

The voice lead Makoto to an intersection where he screeched to a halt, breaths coming in heavy pants as he waited for the voice to come again. The intervals were getting slightly longer too. He hoped he wouldn't be too late.

 _((He... e e elp... M-me.._.))

There! Makoto turned sharply and rand down the street towards the voice. The voice took him to a row of storefronts, and then to the alley way behind them. By now most people would have started to question the wisdom behind following a disembodied voice calling for help into a dark, secluded area. At least, those who hadn't already begun questioning their own sanity.

 _((Th... this...))_

They were suffering. Makoto couldn't ignore it. He entered the alley behind.

 _((R-re e e eally... hu... urts... u... pu... pu... pu...))_

It was strange, now that Makoto thought about it. He had walked down this same street earlier that day on his way to Hope's Peak. From the front, it didn't look like there was any space between these two stores. So why could he now clearly see that street on the other side?

"Hello?" he called out, hoping that the voice's owner was near. "I heard you calling for help! Where are you?"

Makoto kept walking as he called out, but there was no response, and he could no longer feel that pull telling him where the voice was coming from. He had been walking for a while now but the alleyway seemed to stretch on forever. His steps slowed as a sense of foreboding washed over him.

"Hello?"

There were whispers all around him. A brief flash of movement appeared in the corner of his eye but when Makoto whipped his head around all he saw was some graffitti of a dragon with nine heads.

...Had that been there a moment ago?

Makoto yelped as he heard the heavy clunk of a trash can being knocked over and whirled around just in time to see something small disappear into the shadows. A sound somewhere between a whisper and a giggle reached his ears and Makoto felt his blood run cold. By now his heart was hammering in his rib cage and he was beginning to regret his decision to not text Junko and tell her where he was going.

"Hey! If this is a joke, it's not funny!" Makoto called out.

 _((H e e... e e el l l p... m-me e e e...))_

Makoto froze in place. The owner of the voice was right there, but he couldn't see them. What was going on? He whirled around, eyes frantically searching for the owner of the voice. What he found instead chilled him to his core.

The opening of the alley was gone. All he could see of the space between the buildings was a strip of light leading up to a weird kaleidoscope of colors and shapes. The longer he stared at it the more dark, disturbing thing she saw moving inside. His stomach rolled as he tore his eyes away.

"Where... am I? How did I...?"

Around him the scenery had completely transformed. He couldn't see the color or the texture of the buildings that had been there before, only a sheet of pure blackness on which the graffiti dragon was still suspended.

Then the dragon moved.

"What?"

Makoto took a fearful step back as each of the nine heads stretched out over the black surface before him, their jaws opening and closing as they hissed and laughed. And then the flat image peeled itself off of the surface it was adhered too.

Makoto's stomach dropped as the dragon's heads reached for him, and then he whirled on the spot and sprinted away from it. Towards the strange mural. He didn't care how twisted it looked, it couldn't be worse than getting eaten alive by a dragon.

As he neared it, the mural opened up into a tunnel. The ground beneath his feet seemed to flicker in and out of existence, and strange things circled the air above him. No matter where he looked Makoto couldn't find any trace of the alley he'd come from, and the entire while he could sense the dragon-like creature growing nearer and nearer.

Of course, as his luck would dictate, that was when his laces came untied and his shoe flew off of his foot.

Makoto went down with a shriek, landing painfully. His chin hurt from where it struck the ground, but worse, now he knew that thing was going to kill him. He rolled onto his back, raising his arms to cover his face, and-

Nothing. The creature was gone. Makoto blinked and then rubbed his eyes as though it would make the dragon reappear... or the strange surroundings disappear.

 _((H u u u.. u u rts... H e e... e l...))_

That voice again! Snapped from his stupor, Makoto snatched up his shoe and shoved his foot in harshly. He tied his laces as tight as he could - tight enough that it hurt his ankle - before jumping up and running in the direction he thought the voice had come from.

There were weird things moving around them. Things that he knew he wouldn't be able to describe later even if he had to. Trash can lids with human eyeballs and wings like flies, snakes made out of chain-link fences, graffiti that crawled along the walls and hissed and growled at him... It looked like the individual heads of the dragon from before, without the body, but these ones remained flat.

This must have been a hallucination, or a horrible nightmare. Maybe he'd gotten himself worked up and passed out while exploring the school, and now he was just having the worse nightmare of his life. That made way more sense than accepting this as reality.

"Hello?" Makoto called out again, searching for anything that resembled human, or at least anything that didn't look like one of those strange monsters running around. "Where are you?"

 _((H... e... e...))_

There! Makoto's head snapped towards a pile of garbage that looked like it had been cut and pasted from a photograph in a magazine. There were pools of bright pink splattered on the ground around it and something was moving just behind it.

"I'm here! Are you-"

Makoto stopped suddenly as he stepped around the pile of trash and found the thing that had been calling for help.

"...A teddy bear?"

But it wasn't. Not a stuffed toy, anyway. Makoto could see it moving as it gasped in pain and hear its raspy breaths. He could see the tears in its fur and see the pink blood underneath and he knew it was alive.

 _((S... s... a a a ve... m... e e e e...))_

The creature's voice snapped Makoto out of his stupor. He fell to his knees and scooped the bear-like creature up into his arms. Now that he was touching it he could feel the warmth of its body. Even so he had a hard time accepting that it was a living creature. It's appearance was too unnatural. It was shaped exactly like a stuffed teddy bear, but its coloring was unusual. A line divided it exactly down the center, splitting it into black and white. One eye was small and shiny and black while the other was a hateful red slash, and its mouth on the black side of its face was twisted into a wicked-looking grin full of sharp teeth.

Even so, it was writhing in pain.

 _((Th... a... a... a... nk... y... u... pu... pu._..))

"What are you?" Makoto asked aloud as he stood. Well, that didn't really matter at the moment. What mattered was getting the creature help. Didn't the Hope's Peak forum say that there was an Ultimate Nurse attending the school? If he could just find his way out of this place and figure out how to get back to the school...

A loud bang went off. No, even describing it as 'loud' was too tame. Makoto fell to his knees again, subconsciously squeezing the bear-like creature tighter as his ears rang from that deafening sound. He didn't notice the eyeball-monster above him disappear in a shower of pink blood. He did notice the smell of gunpowder, and the shadow that fell over him and the bear.

"Naegi Makoto."

He almost didn't hear that voice over the ringing in his ears, but even so he recognized it instantly. Slowly he craned his head up to look at the person cornering him.

"Iku- Mukuro-san?"

It was Ikusaba Mukuro without a doubt, but she wasn't wearing the same outfit from earlier. Her clothes now somewhat resembled the Hope's Peak uniform, except the fabric was black instead of brown, and it and it had a purple diamond motif running down her arms and down the thigh-length high-heeled boots. It didn't look like something a soldier would wear. It didn't resemble an outfit her sister had designed either. She glared down at him, still holding the Glock she had used to kill the eyeball monster.

"What are you doing here?" she hissed, causing Makoto to flinch.

"I... heard him calling for help. He's hurt!"

"I know." She raised the gun, leveling it on Makoto. "I'm the one who hurt it."

He couldn't believe what he was hearing. Mukuro had tortured this creature? Why? And why was she pointing a gun... at...

Makoto was terrified. All he could see was the muzzle of the gun.

"Put that creature down now."

Her stony expression made it clear that he had no option to refuse. Even so, Makoto tightened his hold on the weird animal.

"No..."

Her eyes narrowed.

"I'm not going to let you hurt him anymore!"

Mukuro's expression didn't change, nor did she lower the gun.

"Is that so. And how do you plan to stop me?"

How could he stop her? She had a gun and he didn't. Even if he had some kind of weapon, how could an ordinary person like him hope to stop the Ultimate Soldier?

Her finger twitched on the trigger, and Makoto flinched.

"I won't say it again. Put that creature down."

He couldn't do anything to stop her. So why didn't she just pull the trigger already? What was she waiting for?

Unless...

Unless she didn't really want to hur-

A bright flash of pink light blinded Makoto, and a familiar voice called out, "Get away from him!"

There was a blur of movement. When Makoto could see again there was someone between him and Mukuro. Someone wearing a flashy hot pink dress, with long flowing pink pigtails and black ribbons and lace accenting her outfit.

"E-enoshima-san!?"

Junko didn't react to Makoto's surprised shout. Her eyes were locked on Mukuro, who had jumped back to avoid Junko's surprise attack. Now the two sisters were engaged in a glaring match. Or, at least, Junko was. Where Junko's eyes were burning, Mukuro's stare was cold as ice.

"What the hell Mukuro!?" Junko growled. "What do you think you're doing attacking Naegi and Monokuma!?"

Monokuma? Did she mean the bear thing?

"That's none of your concern. Get out of my way."

"Like hell I will! I don't know what the fuck your deal is, but you're not laying a finger on either of them!"

One second Mukuro was standing several yards away from Junko. And then she was standing right beside her holding a gun to her sister's temple. Makoto hadn't even blinked, yet he hadn't seen her move. Even her clothes and hair were still, as though she had been standing there all along.

"And what do you plan to do about it?"

Junko had gone rigid. Though her back was to him, Makoto could see the slight tremor running through her body and could imagine the expression that must have been on her face.

"You... How did you-?"

"This is your last warning." Still holding the gun to Junko's head she turned her gaze on Makoto. "Put that creature down and walk away. This doesn't concern you."

"Mukuro-san..." he breathed. "Why...?"

There was a slow creaking sound. And then the surroundings which had fallen strangely silent exploded in a frenzy of motion and sound and light. Chain-link snakes exploded from the ground as three graffiti dragon heads shot out of the shadows towards the three of them. In an instant Mukuro had whirled around and fired off three shots, one for each head. In that same instant Junko shot around and grabbed Makoto. Even though she wasn't a soldier like her sister, she still managed to lift him with ease.

"Man, do you ever eat Naegi-kun? You weigh like ten pounds!"

Makoto was pretty sure he weighed more than that.

"Enoshima-san, what's going on? Where are we? Why are you dressed like that?"

She dropped him suddenly. Makoto hit the ground with a thud while Junko summoned another burst of pink light. Makoto watched in amazement as the light solidified into a long black spear, tipped with a bright pink spearhead. Junko twirled it over her head and placed herself protectively between him and the graffiti dragon head that had suddenly appeared in their path.

"Questions later," she said. "First I gotta deal with this bitch and get you outta here!"

And with that Junko lunged at the dragon head. Makoto watched, mesmerized, as Junko fought with the monster. Her movements were like a wild, crazy dance as she fought the dragon and the strange creatures protecting it. A ring of black spears appeared around her with the wave of a hand and she launched them in every direction, pinning the fence-snakes and trashcan lid-eyeballs to the walls where they melted into puddles of pink. The dragon roared and she launched a volley of spears at it, stabbing it in the roof of its mouth and in each of its burning red eyes.

"Amazing," Makoto whispered as he watched her nimbly leap out of the way when the dragon continued to chase after her. In his arms he felt something shift and he looked down to see the bear like creature curling against his chest. "This... really is real... isn't it?"

It had to be. The sounds of battle, the ringing in his ears from the gunshot, the warmth of the blood seeping into his clothes... They were all too real for this to simply be a dream.

With a final lunge, Junko plunged her spear into the dragon's skull. It gave out a final roar before melting away into the same pink goop as the other monsters. As the creature disappeared underneath her feet, Junko did a graceful flip and landed in front of Makoto.

"Now that guy's taken care of, let's get you out of here before fake-Mukuro catches up with us."

Saying that, Junko grabbed a firm hold of Makoto's wrist and dragged him after her. Luckily after her defeat of the dragon head the other monsters seemed inclined to steer clear of Junko. Soon enough their surroundings began to warp and melt away, leaving behind the mouth of the alley Makoto had been in before.

"What... was that?" Makoto asked as he was finally allowed to stop and catch his breath. Junko turned around and flashed him a wide grin as a pink light engulfed her and her clothes transformed back to normal. "Enoshima-san... who are you?"


	2. I am a Magi Too!

Junko deemed her house too dangerous. Mukuro could come back at any moment. But, she said, she knew some other place that was just as good; Hope's Peak Academy.

"The train ride from my place to the school is pretty long," Junko explained, "so I applied for one of the dorm rooms."

Makoto was surprised she didn't just use a limo.

As soon as they were inside Junko directed Makoto to put down the black and white creature down on her couch. As soon as she did she held her hand out over it and a bright pink light shone from her ring. Then the ring changed form. Junko held a strange jewel-like object over the creature and where the light from the gem hit the creature its wounds closed up.

"Monokuma can heal his wounds on his own eventually," Junko explained, "but it's better not to leave him in pain. Especially when he has an important message to deliver."

"Message?" Makoto parroted as he watched Junko heal the strange creature. She nodded, then closed her hand around the gem. It changed back into a ring.

"There, he should wake up any second now. You want anything to eat or drink? This may take a while."

"Oh, uh, sure."

While she ran to her mini-fridge to grab refreshments Makoto stared at the creature on her couch. its belly rose and fell. It was breathing, so it was alive. But no matter what angle he looked at it at, it still looked like a stuffed toy.

"Here ya go!" Junko plopped a can of soda down on the coffee table in front of him and then sat down on the floor next to him, never mind the fact that there was still plenty of space on the couch. She set a second can down for herself and also dumped a bunch of opened packages of chips and crackers and pocky on the table. "Help yourself."

"Thank you," Makoto said, reaching for the soda can. He popped the tab and lifted the can to his lips to take a sip, never taking his eyes off of the bear.

"That's Monokuma."

Makoto's eyes flickered to Junko.

"Monokuma?"

"Yup. It's his job to find everyday, ordinary, boring people and form contracts with them." Junko's ring glowed again, and then that strange gem from before reappeared. She placed the egg-shaped gem on the table so Makoto could get a better look at it. "This is a Soul Gem; proof of that contract. Once you get one you get all of these awesome powers and a sweet costume. But that's not the best part."

Makoto set his soda can down.

"What's the best part?"

Junko flashed a Cheshire grin.

"The best part is he'll grant whatever wish you want. No matter what it is. Want to be the richest person in the world? Or have an enormous house to live in? You wanna be immortal and never have to worry about getting sick or growing old? Monokuma can do it, but there's a catch."

In a flash, her demeanor changed. The manic grin was gone from her face and she leaned so close to Makoto that their noses were practically touching. Her eyes were wide and when she spoke it was with a reverent tone he'd never heard from her before.

"If you have a Soul Gem, it means you have no choice but to fight Witches."

"Um..." Makoto leaned back, away from Junko. "Witches... is that what that monster you killed back there was?"

Junko leaned back, expression switching to that of an excited little kid.

"Ding ding ding! Part of one, anyway. I didn't have time to finish it off, but yeah, that was part of a Witch. Witches are the sworn enemies of us Puella Magi."

"Puella Magi?"

"That's what you call us super-powered warriors who fight Witches. Ordinary people can't stand up to those things, so Monokuma goes around finding people with a lot of magical potential. When he finds someone who fits the bill, he offers them a chance to form a contract in exchange for a wish."

Makoto stared at Junko in shock, and then at the unconscious creature on her couch. It all sounded like something from an amazing dream, and yet...

"He's kind of weird looking for a wish-granting fairy."

Junko burst out laughing.

"Oh man! I'm gonna tell 'im you called him that! He's gonna be _soooooooo_ mad!"

Makoto's cheeks turned scarlet and he took another sip of his soda.

"What exactly is a Witch? Why are they so dangerous?"

Junko's laughter came to an abrupt halt as she took up that strangely reverent tone again.

"Despair."

Makoto stared at her, waiting for her to elaborate.

"Look at it this way: Puella Magi - or, for you men-folk, Puer Magi - could be said to be born from wishes. Witches are the exact opposite; they're born from curses. They go around spreading misery and hatred and feeding on the despair of their victims." Sighing dreamily, Junko cupped her face in her hand. "And there's nothing anyone can do about them. Normal people can't stand up to them. They can't even see 'em. The Witches hide themselves inside of magical labyrinths and spread their curses from within. Usually when someone wanders in like you did, they don't come out again! I guess you really are the Ultimate Lucky Student, ain'tcha?"

Junko winked at him and flashed him a smile, but even so Makoto felt his stomach sink.

"A labyrinth... Is that what that messed up place I was in before was? How did I even get it without noticing it?"

Humming thoughtfully, Junko tapped her chin.

"That's the question, ain't it? That particular Witch usually only targets teenage girls, particularly ones with freckles. I can't see any reason it would try to lure you in, unless..." Junko smirked. "It wasn't the Witch that called you, was it? It was something else?"

The look on her face said that she already knew the answer, but Makoto nodded anyway and then looked at Monokuma.

"I heard his voice in my head, calling for help."

Junko clapped her hands together in excitement.

"Thought so! Time to break out the champagne!"

"Huh?"

Makoto stared at her blankly as she jumped to her feet and pumped a fist into the air.

"Naegi-kun's been chosen to become a Puer Magi!"

"What? Enoshima-san, please slow down! What do you mean I was 'chosen?'"

Composing herself, Junko set down again, though Makoto could still see her buzzing with barely contained excitement.

"Monokuma won't talk to just anyone! You didn't see a big crowd rushing off to his rescue, did you? Even when his life is in danger, Monokuma will only talk to us Magi, or those with the potential to become a Magi, and lucky you! That's you!"

"Eh?" Makoto blinked. "But I'm-"

"Ordinary? Unremarkable?" Junko cut him off. "Doesn't matter. Your magical potential's got nothing to do with whatever skills you may or may not have as an ordinary human!"

Makoto didn't respond, mouth refusing to work as his brain processed her words. If what she was saying was true, that meant that in addition to being a famous model, Junko also spent her time fighting against dangerous monsters, and that this strange creature wanted him to do the same thing. It was scary, but in a strange way it was also sort of thrilling. It wasn't like when he was picked for Hope's Peak Academy at random. This was calculated, intentional. Monokuma wanted _him_.

 _((So, whatcha gonna wish for kiddo?))_

Makoto jumped and Junko turned at the sound of Monokuma's telepathic voice reverberating in their heads. Having stayed quiet up until now, Monokuma was sitting up and staring at them.

"Oh, you're finally awake," Junko said. Monokuma's face didn't change, but Makoto got the impression he was glaring at her.

 _((Yeah, finally! What took you so long! I almost ended up as confetti paste thanks to that creepy chick! How could you cut it so close!?))_

"Gimme a break! I was having a hard time finding you in that maze! You're lucky Naegi-kun was close enough to hear you and came looking!"

 _((Hmph!))_ Monokuma crossed his arms. (( _Well, whatever. What's done is done. So, how about it Naegi? Your wish is my command!))_

"H-hold on, I haven't actually agreed to form a contract yet!" he protested to both Junko's and Monokuma's bewilderment.

 _((What? Are you joking? C'mon kid, this is a once in a lifetime chance here! I can make you popular with the ladies or make you super rich and famous or turn you into a super genius! What's the holdup?))_

"I just... Have some more things I wanna ask. Besides, I'm not even sure what I would want to wish for!"

"Ah?" Junko traced her fingertip around the rim of her soda can. "What else you wanna know?"

"Uh, it's about Ikusaba-san..."

The excitement drained from Junko's face to be replaced with quiet anger. There was no discernible change in Monokuma's expression.

"She's a Puella Magi too, right? So why were you two fighting? I mean, you're sisters and you're fighting against the same enemy, so shouldn't you guys be allies?"

" _Noooooooot_ necessarily," Junko sang. "Thing is, it's really unusual for Magi to work together. There are rewards for defeating a Witch, you see? And there's only so many to go around. If two Magi team up, only one can reap the rewards, so there's not much profit in it."

 _((That's why tall, dark, and creepy was attacking me,))_ Monokuma chimed in. (( _She wanted to stop me from forming more contracts and giving her competition.))_

"Oh, I see..."

"The thing is," Junko added, "I don't remember my sis ever making a contract. I mean, I've been a Puella Magi for a really long time now, and Mukuro's gotten lots of chances to make a contract, but never did. It might explain why her personality's changed, but..." She shrugged. "I'unno. I can't imagine what she wished for. Social skills maybe?"

She looked at Monokuma expectantly, but he ignored her. Instead his focus was on Makoto.

 _((So anyway, how long do ya think it's gonna take you to choose a wish? I can't wait for you forever you know!))_

"I know, it's just, I'm not sure this is something I can really do." He turned to Junko. "Fighting Witches is really dangerous, right?"

Junko shrugged.

"I mean, I guess. At first. It's true that fighting Witches means putting your life in danger, but I'm really strong now so I don't worry too much. Hell, if you're really that scared I can stick with you and help train you up until you're strong enough to take down Witches by yourself."

That was a generous offer. Although he was still apprehensive, Makoto was tempted to take it.

"What do the Witches do if you don't hunt them down?"

 _((Murder.))_ Monokuma's childlike tone made that simple word all the more chilling. (( _Suicide. Hatred. Despair. Witches are responsible for all sorts of tragic things. Sure, you can ignore 'em. A lot of people do. But would you be able to live with yourself if you did? A freak car accident kills a family of four. Maybe it really was an accident, or maybe a Witch was involved. A woman breaks down and throws herself off a bridge for seemingly no reason. Some guy goes crazy and shoots up a mall full of innocent people. Incidents like these occur every single day, all over the world. You have no idea how many of them are caused by Witches.))_

Monokuma's jagged red eye seemed to peer into Makoto's soul.

 _((Knowing what you know now, could you really ignore all of that? Would you be able to live with yourself if you knew you'd had a chance to stop it and you didn't?))_

A part of Makoto wanted to say it wasn't fair that Monokuma was putting that on him like that. He wouldn't even have known about Witches if Monokuma hadn't gotten him involved. And yet, there was undeniable truth to Monokuma's words. He'd never be able to hear another tragic news story again without wondering if a Witch was involved.

"Tell you what," Junko cut off his train of thought, "why don't I take you Witch-hunting with me tomorrow? You can see what it's really like and think about your wish while you do? If you decide not to become a Puer Magi after that then fine! I'll make Monokuma move on by force if I have too!"

 _((Please don't!))_

Makoto thought about it. The idea of going back into another one of those labyrinths was beyond terrifying. Yet the memory of Junko in her Puella Magi outfit, wielding a spear and defeating her enemies all with a smile on her face caused his heart rate to accelerate.

"Alright," he said, willing his heart beat to slow down. "I'll go on a Witch hunt with you."

Junko squealed excitedly and suddenly lunged forward, capturing a flustered Makoto in a tight bear hug.

"This is gonna be so much fun! After you see me in action you're not gonna be able to say no, just you wait!"

Makoto smiled weakly. Over his shoulder Junko flashed a predatory grin.

"I can't wait!"

* * *

Makoto was, not for the first time, grateful that his parents were the easy-going and trusting type. Although he frequently found himself in hectic situations that had more then once caused him to stumble through the front door in the middle of the night, it was never a result of him intentionally doing anything wrong and they understood that. So when he arrived home long after the sun had set and his little sister Komaru had gone to bed, they accepted his explanation that he had been with a friend and lost track of time with a smile and a reminder to brush his teeth before he went to bed.

It took a long time for him to fall asleep that night. He kept thinking about everything he had learned that day, and wondering what was in store for him the next day. And trying to decide on a wish. Although all of Junko's suggestions sounded good, Makoto wasn't sure he was willing to risk his life for any of them, and he had read enough fantasy and sci-fi stories to know the downfalls of wishing for immortality.

Go figure when he eventually drift off into sleep he dreamed about becoming a Puer Magi. His dreams were all broken, messed up images of strange monsters and labyrinths and the feel of a gun in his hand and flashes of brilliant green and pink light as he and Junko fought side by side. It was a good dream. Makoto thought it was a good dream.

When he opened his eyes they were wet with tears, and he couldn't figure out why.

* * *

Monokuma was still asleep when Makoto was finally ready to get out of bed. He didn't know why but the bear-like creature had decided he would simply live with Makoto until he eventually decided to make a wish. Monokuma seemed utterly convinced that he would. Makoto was just glad Monokuma was invisible to most people, so he didn't have to explain to his parents what a walking, talking teddy bear was doing waltzing into their house.

"Morning, Monokuma," Makoto said as he exited his bathroom, fully dressed, and grabbed his school bag. The bear mumbled something in his sleep and rolled over.

Komaru was already sitting at the table with food in her mouth when Makoto got to the dining room, but no one else was. This wasn't unusual. Both their mother and their father worked full time and often left early in the morning, even before their kids woke up. Breakfast was usually left in the refrigerator the night before for the Naegi siblings.

"Morning Komaru," Makoto said as he opened up the fridge to grab his own breakfast. Komaru mumbled a distracted "Morning," in response, never taking her eyes off the television screen.

At first Makoto only half-paid attention to the news story Komaru was watching. As the story progressed, however, he found himself watching with greater interest. Apparently a woman had poisoned her family and herself after she found out her husband was cheating on her.

 _Maybe it really was an accident, or maybe a Witch was involved._

 _Incidents like these occur every single day, all over the world. You have no idea how many of them are caused by Witches._

A shudder ran down Makoto's spine. Could the woman int he news story had been cursed by a Witch?

"Yeah, it is super creepy," Komaru said, having noticed Makoto's reaction. "I can kinda understand her wanting to get back at her husband, but I feel sorry for their kids."

Makoto stared at his sister, eyes wide.

"You think what he did justified her killing him?"

Komaru's gaze snapped away from the television.

"Of course not! I mean, he deserved to have her get back at him, but even if he was a cheating slime-ball that doesn't justify murder! I'm just saying..." Her gaze shifted back to the television where they were showing an old photo of the now-dead family. "I feel sorry for her. It must suck to have someone you love betray your trust like that, you know?"

On the screen the man and children were smiling happily, but the woman's expression looked hollow. Like she was just putting on an act for the camera.

* * *

Sayaka was waiting outside the school building when Makoto arrived at Hope's Peak. She was checking her phone and didn't notice his approach right away, but when he called out to her she looked up with a bright smile on her face and tucked her phone into her pocket before waving at him.

"Good morning Naegi-kun! Did you sleep well?"

Makoto hummed thoughtfully.

"I did, but I had some really weird dreams," he admitted.

The smile slipped away from Sayaka's face. "Bad dreams can be an indication of stress build up. Are you worried about something, Naegi-kun?"

Witches. Contracts. Junko. Despair. Wishes.

"No, not really," Makoto lied. "I think it's just from all the excitement yesterday. I'm still shocked I actually got invited here."

Although he felt bad for hiding the truth from her, Makoto was relieved when Sayaka seemed to accept his lie as the truth and her smile returned.

"I know! I can't believe it either!"

Makoto stared at her in shock.

"Really? But you're the lead singer in the most famous pop group in Japan. I think it's only natural that someone as amazing as you would get into Hope's Peak."

"You're sweet, Naegi-kun." Had he said something wrong? Although she didn't look angry or upset with him, her expression seemed strained. "But the truth is, the other girls in my group are just as talented as I am. I don't know why I got chosen out of all of us, and I'm a little sad I can't go to school with them anymore."

"Oh..." That made sense. In all the interviews and shows Sayaka and the other idols in her group looked incredibly close, so of course she would be upset that she didn't get to spend as much time with them.

"Hey, Naegi-kun, do you mind if I ask you a question?"

"Not at all!" he replied eagerly. Sayaka smiled sweetly at him.

"Did you by chance go to Sixth Black Root Middle School?"

"Huh?" Makoto stared at her in shock. Sayaka was staring at him expectantly, waiting for his answer. "Yeah, how did you know?"

Beaming, Sayaka replied, "I knew it! We went to the same middle school together!"

Feeling his cheeks coloring the slightest bit, Makoto said, "Y-yeah, we did, but how did you know I went to Black Root?"

"Because I remember seeing you all the time!" Almost bashfully, Sayaka tucked her hair behind one of her ears. Makoto felt his cheeks growing warmer. "I was always looking for an opportunity to talk to you, but because I always had so many people around me we ended up graduating without ever actually saying a word."

Makoto couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"You... wanted to talk to me? Why?"

"Do you remember during our first year of junior high, that huge bird wandered into the school pond?"

Now that she mentioned it, Makoto thought he did remember an incident like that.

"It was like something out of a fairy tale," Sayaka continued. "The turtle ever one million years, that bird every one thousand..."

"Oh yeah, the crane!" Makoto smiled as the memory came back to him. "I do remember that!"

"That's right! That's what it was! It was so big, the teacher had no idea what to do! But you lead it to the forest behind the school. You helped it find its way home."

The truth was Makoto had been in charge of taking care of the class pet at that time. For some reason he often ended up being volunteered by other people for things they didn't want to do, and as a result his teacher and other classmates had decided he was the perfect person to send to help the huge, frightened animal. Not that he regretted it. He was glad to help the crane. But he had been tiny back then - tinier, anyway - and being up close to that huge bird had frightened him.

Sayaka continued, "I should have said thank you then, but... is it okay if I do it now?"

"Thank me...?"

She wasn't going to tell her that that crane was her pet or something was she?

"I'm that crane, you see. I've come to return the favor. Here, let me make you a cloak..." No, of course she wasn't. Hadn't he heard a folk tale like that before? "Ehehe. Just kidding!"

"Y-yeah, I kind of figured!" Makoto said, laughing along with her.

"Honestly though, I was so impressed... That's why I always wanted to talk to you, even just once." Sayaka's smile was so serene at that moment. For a brief second he did think he saw a resemblance between her and the crane, once it had calmed down and was flying away gracefully. "And now we've both been accepted to Hope's Peak Academy and are even in the same class together! I can't believe how lucky I am!"

"I think I'm the lucky one," Makoto half-said, half-whispered. Nervously he scratched at his cheek and hoped that he wasn't blushing too red. He didn't notice the presence creeping up behind him until pointed red nails dug into his shoulder.

"Up! It's going up!"

" _UWAAAAA!_ " Startled by Junko's sudden appearance, Makoto jumped nearly out of his skin, causing Junko to burst out in hearty guffaws while Sayaka let out a more modest giggle. "Enoshima-san! What the hell?"

"Sorry, sorry!" she said through her laughter. "I was just walking by when I noticed you two lovebirds and decided to watch for a bit. And that's when. I. Saw. It! Rising!"

Makoto raised an eyebrow. "Saw... what exactly?"

"Maizono-san's affection flag! I saw it rising! Naegi-kun, you sly devil you!"

By now his face was burning.

"I wasn't... That's not what was happening!"

Both girls were laughing at him again.

"She's just teasing you, Naegi-kun," Sayaka assured him. "Come on, let's get to class before we're late."

"And before Ishimaru-kun can scream our ears off," Junko added as she strolled ahead of them.

As the three of them started to head inside the school building, Makoto felt a warmth in his chest. Maybe he really was the Ultimate Lucky student after all.

* * *

There were even fewer students today than there had been the previous day, to their homeroom teacher's chagrin. Ishimaru, naturally having accepted the role of class representative the previous day, lead the class in their morning greeting and then Taresawa took over from there, giving the students a lecture on the importance of diligence and maintaining a rigorous study schedule. Makoto thought the lecture would probably have been better served for the students who were skipping class.

" _Pssst. Naegi-kun!_ "

Makoto threw a glance at Junko, who was leaning out of her seat and had her hand cupped around her mouth.

"I ran out of lead for my pencil. Can I borrow one of yours?"

Nodding silently, Makoto leaned down and started to unzip his bag-

And bit back a startled squawk as he saw what was inside and hurriedly shoved the bag shut. Taresawa didn't notice his odd reaction, but a couple of the students sitting nearby did. What was Monokuma doing here!?

 _((Well that was rude! Your sleeping face ain't exactly a sight for sore eyes either!))_

 _((Monokuma?_ Junko's voice echoed in Makoto's head as well. _What's he doing here?))_

 _((I slipped into your boyfriend's bag while he was eating breakfast,))_ Monokuma explained. (( _Oh, by the way, we can talk telepathically like this. For your convenience, since I know you humans get touchy about looking like you're talking to yourselves in public.))_

"Naegi-kun!" Ishimaru's voice suddenly cut in. "Please pay attention to Taresawa-sensei when she's speaking!"

"Ah!" Makoto realized suddenly that he had been leaning under his desk for a weirdly long time. "Sorry."

As fast as he could manage he unzipped his bag, grabbed a mechanical pencil that Monokuma held up for him, and zipped up the bag again before sitting up straight and passing the pencil to Junko. Although Taresawa had resumed her lecture and Ishimaru had turned his attention back to the front of the classroom, Makoto could still feel odd stares on him from the other students.

 _((Monokuma, what were you thinking? You know Mukuro's in this class, right?))_ Junko scolded. (( _What if she attacks you again?))_

 _((It's fine, it's fine!))_ Monokuma insisted. (( _She won't do anything with all these people around. Besides, there's other Magi in this class besides you, so I should be safe.))_

 _((Eh?))_ This time Makoto projected his thoughts. (( _Who else-?))_

At that moment Sayaka, who sat in the desk in front of Makoto, turned her head the slightest bit to catch Makoto's gaze. He stared at her in shock as she raised her hand to tuck her hair behind her ear, allowing him to catch a glimpse of the ring on her finger.

It was identical to Junko's, save that the gemstone was a sky blue instead of vibrant pink.

 _((Sorry I didn't tell you before,))_ she thought. (( _I wanted to keep you out of it. Let's meet on the roof and talk more after class.))_

For a brief moment, Sayaka offered Makoto an apologetic smile before turning her attention forward.

* * *

When morning classes were finally over and done with and the bell rang signalling the start of lunch Makoto immediately gathered up his bag and started to head towards the roof. He didn't bother stopping by the cafeteria to grab anything to eat on the way, knowing he wouldn't be able to even think about eating until he'd spoken to Sayaka.

She was already there waiting for him when he burst out of the stairwell, along with Junko who laughed at his flustered appearance. Once the door shut behind him and the coast was clear Monokuma wormed his way out of the bag and waddled over to Junko, who Makoto was quickly beginning to realize was Monokuma's favorite.

"So, I guess I owe you a bit of an explanation, huh?" Sayaka said meekly as Makoto made his way over.

"Maizono-san, you're a Puella Magi too?" He couldn't believe it. Not one, but two of his classmates were risking their lives fighting Witches, and they were keeping it secret.

Nodding, Sayaka continued, "It's not that I wanted to keep it from you, Naegi-kun. It's just that, being a Puella Magi is dangerous, and I didn't want to rope you into it unwillingly." At that, she sent a pointed look at Junko who promptly busied herself inspecting her nails. "And not only that, I wouldn't even know how to explain it to someone who hasn't seen a Witch or met Monokuma-kun before. But, Enoshima-san explained everything that happened yesterday to me. I guess there's no helping it, is there? You're involved now."

The seriousness with which she spoke weighed heavily on Makoto. He'd never heard Sayaka speak like that before.

"Maizono-san, how long have you been a Puella Magi for?"

Placing her hand on her chin, Sayaka seemed to wrack her brain for the answer.

"Hm... I think it's been a little over a year now? Yes, it was right before the school year started, so that sounds about right."

"Maizono-san and I used to hunt Witches together, actually," Junko added. "Up until she got strong enough to handle 'em on her own. But, for the purposes of today's activities, we'll be teaming up again."

"I personally don't like the idea of bringing a normal person into a Witch's labyrinth," Sayaka admitted, "but if you're going to do it anyway, it would be better if there's more of us there. That way one of us can focus on protecting you while the other focuses on tracking down and killing the Witch."

 _((Plus, if things go bad in there you can go ahead and make a wish right then and there and join the fight!))_ Monokuma added. Junko gave him a light bop on the head.

"Don't be a bully, Monokuma. Naegi-kun's gotta make his wish on his own!" she scolded, though Monokuma looked unaffected by her words.

"The thing is..." Both girls and the mascot stared at Makoto expectantly. "I have no idea what to wish for."

"Really?" Sayaka seemed surprised to hear that. "There's nothing you'd wish for?"

"Well, I mean, I can think of a lot of things I'd want to have or be able to do, but none of them seem really worth risking my life over."

Suddenly Mukuro's words from the day before came back to them, and he felt like he understood where she might have been coming from.

"I'm sure there are lots of people who need a wish a lot more than I do, so I don't really get why I was chosen in the first place."

 _((If that's how you feel about it,))_ Monokuma said, (( _you can always make a wish for someone else. There's no regulation or anything saying you have to be the one reaping the benefits of your wish.))_

That sounded promising.

"However-" Sayaka's stern tone cut off his next thought before it had even formed. "-it's not something I would recommend. Making a wish is... a very big deal, and you have to be absolutely certain of it. If you do make a wish for someone else, you have to fully understand your own reasoning behind it. Are you making the wish for their sake, or are you making it for their gratitude?"

Silence fell. Makoto and Junko and even Monokuma stared at Sayaka as though she had become a completely different person. In a way, she had.

" _Yeeesh_ , that was pretty harsh," Junko said when her voice had come back to her. "Kill the mood much?"

Sayaka offered a sympathetic smile.

"I know it sounds cold, but it's better if I say it early on. You don't want to make a wish and end up regretting it later on, right?"

That... made sense. Makoto nodded.

"No, I understand. I'll think about my wish very carefully."

Smiling, Sayaka said, "That's good."

Then her smile fell. Junko tensed up and Monokuma hid behind her legs as the door to the rooftop opened and swung closed. Makoto turned around to find Ikusaba Mukuro walking towards them.

"What the hell do you want!?" Junko snarled, transforming her ring into its Soul Gem form and summoning a half-formed spear constructed from light out of it. Sayaka, similarly, summoned a short sword with a blue hilt and silver blade, though her stance was more defensive than aggressive.

"We won't allow you to hurt Monokuma-kun," she said as she placed herself between Mukuro and Makoto.

"You don't have to worry about that any more," Mukuro assured them. "I only wanted to stop Monokuma from making contact with Naegi Makoto, but..." She sent a withering glare at the creature hiding behind Junko's legs. "It seems I am too late."

Her gaze shifted from Monokuma to Naegi.

"So? What will you do? Do you intend to form a contract?"

Makoto's mouth opened and closed as he struggled for words. He still hadn't figured that out himself, so what was he supposed to tell Mukuro?

Before he could figure out how to answer, Mukuro asked, "Do you remember what I said to you yesterday?"

Mutely, Makoto nodded.

"Good." She turned halfway. "I hope my warning isn't wasted." Then she walked off, leaving the same way she came.

Warning? Was she warning him away from becoming a Puer Magi? Why? He knew it was dangerous, but why would a Puella Magi he'd never met before care whether or not he put his life in danger fighting Witches when she and her sister did the exact same thing?

Sayaka and Junko didn't unsummon their weapons until Mukuro had closed the door behind her. Collectively they breathed a sigh of relief.

"I'm starting to see what you meant about your sister, Enoshima-san," Sayaka said. Makoto turned to her.

"Did you know Ikusaba-san before?"

"No, but that behavior would be unusual for anyone, don't you think?" Sayaka asked. "If she just wanted to stop Monokuma-kun from making more Magi, she would still be trying to kill him. But she's not. She only seems interested in stopping him from forming a contract with you."

"Geez, this really pisses me off," Junko growled. "If it were anyone else I'd just be regular mad, but my sister's the one running around trying to kill off my friends!? That makes me extra, super, double-pissed!"

Hoping to reassure her, Makoto said, "I'm sure if you just talked to her you'd be able to sort things out."

Instantly Junko's gaze snapped towards him and he flinched at the ferocity in her expression.

"Talk things out? After what she did? Naegi-kun, she pointed a gun at your face!"

Sayaka gasped in shock. "She did what!?"

Makoto shifted nervously. "I mean, yeah, she did... But I don't think she actually wanted to hurt me."

"Naegi-kun." Junko placed both of her hands on his shoulders. "She pointed a _gun_ at your _face!_ "

"I know! But she never fired it, even though she had every chance too. Even when I refused to put Monokuma down she didn't pull the trigger."

"So she only wanted to kill Monokuma," Sayaka concluded. "Either way, she knowingly tried to hurt one of our friends, and that's not something we can simply 'talk out.' I'm sorry Naegi-kun, but I think for now it's best if you get used to considering Ikusaba-san an enemy. Especially if you do end up deciding to form a contract."

Makoto couldn't help the ache that formed in his chest. He didn't want to consider anyone his enemy, least of all one of his classmates. If anyone was their enemy, it should have been the Witches who spread despair, not fellow Magi.

* * *

An eternity seemed to pass before the final bell rang and classes concluded for the day. Another phone call came for Sayaka during the day, but this time she managed to postpone whatever it was the person on the other side wanted. Her career was not more important than a literally life-or-death situation, she said, but that didn't stop Makoto from feeling slightly guilty.

Sayaka and Junko were quick to drop off their school bags in their dorm rooms and then together they and Makoto hit the streets to search for Witches.

"Because I've run into it before, I can use my Soul Gem to track the magical residue of the Witch we saw yesterday," Junko explained. "But the longer you wait to track a Witch down the colder the trail gets until it fades completely."

"But what if Ikusaba-san already finished that Witch off?" Makoto asked.

"She didn't," Junko assured him. "I can still feel its trail, but it's gotten pretty cold."

If she hadn't been protecting him, Junko might have been able to finish off that Witch the day before, Makoto realized. Again, he felt the slightest hint of guilt, but it further cemented in his mind that Junko was indeed a good person.

"In addition," Sayaka said, adding to Junko's explanation, "we search for Witches in places where people are likely to feel despair. Places where car accidents are common, or bridges and tall buildings where people go to commit suicide, or even hospitals."

As soon as those words left her lips the light in Junko's Soul Gem flared out.

"Found her!" Junko cried, breaking out into a run. "C'mon! This way!"

The three of them ran as fast as they could in the direction of the Witch's trail. Hardly anyone seemed to pay the three teenagers any mind, except when they yelled at them for taking up space on the sidewalk or for bumping into them. Sayaka and Junko didn't bother acknowledging them, but Makoto threw some hurried apologies behind him as they continued their pursuit of the Witch.

Makoto's lungs began to burn and his legs began to ache, but Junko and Sayaka showed no signs of slowing down. Was it because they were Puella Magi?

The Witch's trail lead them to a warehouse district. It was mostly empty, and the three teenagers were able to creep through without alerting the homeless people lingering around.

"The barrier's this way," Junko said as she walked down the space between two storage units. "Be ready."

Makoto swallowed nervously, but nodded. He could see the graffiti of the nine headed dragon from before and remembered when it had turned into a giant monster and almost killed him. He was scared, but this time he had both Junko and Sayaka there to protect him, and Monokuma was waddling along behind them, ready to form a contract in a pinch.

Junko held out her Soul Gem and forced the barrier open.

The inside of the labyrinth was almost exactly the same as Makoto remembered. There were strange monsters that looked like trash can lids with wings and eyes, and snakes made out of chain link as though from a fence. This time, however, there were also strange creatures that looked like pinstripe suits being worn by phantoms made of smokey grey mist.

"Get ready," Sayaka said as her ring transformed into a blue Soul Gem.

In a burst of blue and pink light, they transformed. He'd seen Junko's Puella Magi outfit before; a beautiful hot pink dress accented with black ribbons and lace and black, high-heeled boots that went up to her thighs and decorated with pink stripes the same shade as her dress. The cute hairbands that used to hold her hair in pigtails had been replaced with flowing black ribbons that faded to hot pink at the tips. Her Soul Gem had transformed as well, becoming a bunny-shaped jewel on her right pigtail.

Sayaka's dress, meanwhile, transformed into something similar to what Makoto had seen her wearing when she was performing as an idol, except this one was pale blue whereas her idol dress was pastel pink. It was sleeveless with a frilly blue and white skirt and a dark blue ribbon tied elegantly around her throat. She had long white sleeves and boots that were accented at the wrists and heels with white feathers and her Soul Gem came to rest neatly in the center of a bow-shaped hairpin with more white feathers curling back into her hair.

"Stick close to us, 'kay Naegi-kun?" Junko asked with a smirk. Before giving him a chance to answer she summoned her spear and launched herself into battle.

Junko fought viciously. Her movements were still elegant, but now Makoto could see how brutal her attacks were. She hurled her spears with enough force to send the monsters flying and pinned them to walls where they writhed in pain before disappearing into sticky pools of blood. By comparison, Sayaka's methods seemed more merciful. She still slew her enemies with efficiency, summoning short swords to slice them to bits or impale them from great distances. Like when she was on stage, Sayaka's movements were mesmerizing.

He'd said it before, but even so Makoto found himself whispering, "They're amazing," before he even knew his lips were moving.

 _((Eh, they're alright_.))

Looking down, Makoto found Monokuma plopped down on the ground right in front of him.

 _((Upupupu, two lovely ladies fighting to the death, but it's so boring, isn't it? These familiars are so weak they aren't even breaking a sweat! A fight with a clear winner from the beginning is pretty boring to watch, don'tcha think?))_

"Maybe for you. You probably get to see stuff like this all the time," Makoto pointed out. "But I've never seen anything like this before. I never even thought I would. It's easy to say it looks easy, but if either of them makes a mistake they could end up seriously hurt. I think it's amazing they can rush into battle and protect people like that."

 _((Protect people, huh?))_ Monokuma mused. Makoto ignored him.

Sayaka and Junko cleared room after room, not leaving one living familiar behind them.

"They may be smaller and weaker than Witches," Sayaka explained, "but they can still kill people."

"Yeah, but killing all of 'em's a pain in the ass," Junko groused. "'Sides, if we kill the Witch they split off from fast enough then we won't have to worry about them hurting anyone."

Makoto asked her what she meant by 'fast enough.'

"Well, if you kill the main Witch, then any familiar that split off from her will die too," Junko replied. "But, if a familiar kills enough people it can turn into a copy of the Witch it came from."

"Which is why it's better we don't leave any behind us to slip out of the labyrinth and attack those people we saw outside," Sayaka added.

Makoto carried Monokuma as he followed Sayaka and Maizono through the labyrinth. He couldn't figure out how they knew which way to go. Nothing about the structure of the Witch's labyrinth made sense. Everything looked like something out of a twisted nightmare, doors appearing and disappearing out of thin air and warped images like something a child had scrawled making up the landscape. In some places the colors were muted and in others they were so vibrant that Makoto couldn't look at them for too long before his head began to hurt. But Sayaka and Junko seemed to know exactly where they were going and he gladly followed their lead.

Finally, they found the center of the labyrinth. At first it looked like something from an old Yakuza movie. The black and white scenery reflected the inside of a very traditional Japanese building with bamboo flooring and rice paper screen doors and scrolls with ferocious dragons decorating the walls. But it seemed bleached through in some places, like a photograph that had its film exposed to light for too long. And in the very center was the Witch.

The Witch resembled a dragon with nine heads that each moved independently from one another, but it almost looked like it had been cut out of construction paper and scrawled on with a dying marker. Even so as it sensed their presence and turned to roar at them with each of its nine heads Makoto could see it was indeed a three dimensional being and not flat like it looked, and it was also very huge.

"Stay here, Naegi-kun," Sayaka said as she created a wall around him with a wave of her hand. Makoto could see translucent crane-shaped motifs on her barrier. "We'll finish this up quickly."

The Witch let out an earth-shattering roar and lunged at them, and Junko and Sayaka sprung.

With inhuman grace and agility the two Puella Magi weaved between the Witch's nine heads, dancing around them and leading them in circles. Eventually they crossed paths with one another and then jumped to the outer reaches of the arena and the Witch's heads, trying to follow them, pulled themselves tight into a knot. Junko laughed as she summoned nine spears and launched them at each of the Witch's heads. She struck an eye, a nostril, a throat, and a mouth and each head roared in pain. While it was distracted Sayaka jumped over the heads, two short swords drawn as she aimed for its body.

At that moment something sprung from the center of its mass and slammed into her. Sayaka let out a pained shout and Makoto called her name as a tendril that suspiciously resembled a strip of film wrapped around her waist and flung her as hard as it could into the wall. Sayaka's form was completely swallowed up by a cloud of dust from her impact.

"You bitch!" Junko snarled as she launched herself at the film tendril, spear poised. When it tried to grab her Junko drove the tip of her spear down its center, splitting it in two. Instead of falling limp, however, the tendrils wrapped around her, binding her arms to her side so she could no longer use her spear. Junko screamed and cursed as the tendrils tightened around her body.

"Enoshima-san!" Makoto screamed.

Suddenly there was a flash of blue and Sayaka appeared out of nowhere, swords drawn. She sliced through the base of the tendrils and they fell limp, retreating back into a gaping black hole in the center of the body. Makoto gasped as he saw something like an eye blink inside the hole. Then he realized it wasn't an eye; it was like the lens of a camera.

Standing side by side, Junko and Sayaka raised their weapons. Then they drove them down into the lens together, Junko's spear and Sayaka's swords piercing deep into the Witch's core. The nine heads which had been lying in a tangled heap let out a final roar of pain before the body burst apart in a spray of pink and a tiny black object fell to the ground where the Witch's core had once been. A moment later the surroundings began to blur and run together, like a watercolor painting, and then faded away completely. They had returned to the warehouse district.

"That was the most amazing thing I've ever seen," Makoto said, earning a pleased smile from Sayaka and a wide grin from Junko. Their costumes disappeared in a burst of light and they were left standing in their normal clothes.

"So what did you think?" Sayaka asked. Behind her, Junko bent and picked something up off of the ground. "Were you scared?"

"No," Makoto said, and then, "Well, maybe a little, but I had faith in you guys. And you really were amazing!"

Junko let out an excited whoop that drew Makoto's and Sayaka's attention.

"The Witch dropped a Grief Seed!" Junko cried, holding her prize high in the air. "And it's got a bunch of uses left in it! Lucky!"

Makoto tilted his head in confusion.

"Here, let us give you an explanation," Sayaka offered. "Enoshima-san, do you mind?"

"Go ahead," she said, tossing the Grief Seed to her. "You saved my butt back there anyway, so I owe ya one!"

Sayaka caught the Grief Seed and then held it out to Makoto so he could get a clear look at it. The seed was a small, hollow orb, about the same size of a Soul Gem, with a murky black cloud swirling inside of it. The Grief Seed was balanced perfectly atop a needle-like point in the palm of Sayaka's hand. In her other hand she held her Soul Gem.

"You see how my Soul Gem looks a little dim compared to how it was at the start of the fight?"

Now that she mentioned it, Makoto did notice. He could see swirls of something dark in the blue of her Soul Gem.

"Well, if I do this-" She brought her hands close together so that the Grief Seed and Soul Gem were nearly touching. Makoto watched in amazement as tiny black wisps flew out of her Soul Gem and into the Grief Seed. "-it clears right up!"

"Whoa."

"It's pretty important," Junko added. Sayaka handed her the Grief Seed and she cleaned her gem as well. "If you don't clean your Soul Gem regularly you won't have much magic to fight with. This is that 'reward' I told you about yesterday."

Makoto remembered her mentioning something else the previous day as well.

"And that's why Magi don't normally work together?" he asked. "Because they're fighting over these Grief Seeds?"

Sayaka's smile fell.

"It's unfortunate, but we don't always get lucky like we did today. This Grief Seed had several uses in it. We can share this one, but usually a Grief Seed dropped by a witch only has one or two uses in it, so Magi usually end up fighting over them."

Oh. That was the reason. It was sad, but Makoto could understand it, in a way. Two Magi couldn't fight together if one of them didn't have any magic to fight with.

"Hey, what's with the face?" Junko said. "We won, so let's celebrate! Let's head back to my dorm room for refreshments and we can talk about your wish!" As she spoke Junko started walking again and Sayaka and Makoto fell into step behind her. "So what do you think, Naegi-kun? You have any idea what you wanna wish for yet?"

"No, but..."

The girls stared at him expectantly.

"I think I'm starting to get an idea. I'm not sure though..."

 _((You'll never get anywhere by being indecisive,))_ Monokuma scolded. (( _I can't grant a wish unless you know what you wanna wish for!))_

"I know. I am thinking about it. I promise, I'll let you know as soon as I have a wish."

Monokuma didn't answer other than to let out one of his weird 'upupu' laughs.

* * *

The three of them were talking and laughing happily by the time they reached Hope's Peak Academy. They passed by a few students who stopped and stared at the two beautiful girls - while ignoring the incredibly plain boy walking with them - but were too wrapped up in their own thing to notice anyone else.

At least, until someone stopped right in front of them, blocking their path to school. Sayaka and Junko stopped short, the smiles disappearing from their faces as they stood protectively in front of Makoto, while Makoto's grip on Monokuma subconsciously tightened.

"What do you want now?" Junko hissed, not wanting to draw attention to them but also wanting to make her displeasure known.

"Nothing," Mukuro replied. "I just hope you're prepared to face the consequences if things don't go the way you plan."

"And what the hell's that supposed to mean!?"

"Exactly what it sounds like. I'll let you figure it out on your own." Mukuro's gaze slid away from Junko and landed on Makoto. Her eye contact was broken when Sayaka stepped in front of him.

"Ikusaba-san," Sayaka began in a cordial tone, "I don't know what happened between you and your sister, so I won't say anything on that account. But I can't forgive you for attacking my friend. I don't want to become your enemy, so if you know what's best for you you'll stay far away from me and my friends outside of class."

Mukuro's eyes widened the slightest bit, but the expression on her face wasn't one of fear. More like mild surprise. With a huff, Mukuro stepped to the side and started walking down the path past them.

"This isn't a game you're getting involved in," she said as she passed Makoto. "There is real danger there, and your survival isn't guaranteed. Remember that."

Makoto turned around, and she was gone. As though she'd never been there.

* * *

After dumping an armful of snacks on the coffee table Junko slumped down on her couch with a heavy sigh and kicked her feet up on the table.

"Man! I'm so ready to kick back after all that!"

"Thank you for having us over," Sayaka said as she reached for a bottle of clear soda. Noticing the apprehensive look on his face, she handed Makoto one as well. "Are you okay Naegi-kun?"

"Yeah," he said, reaching for the soda. He didn't meet her eyes, too busy staring off into space.

"Are you thinking about what Ikusaba-san said?" Sayaka asked. At the mention of her sister, Junko let out an annoyed huff.

"She seems really serious about what she said earlier," he replied. "I'm just wondering why."

"Well, we know one thing for certain know," Sayaka said. "She's focused her attention entirely on you."

"...Eh?"

Junko stayed silent, but the relaxed expression on her face had fallen away. She fixed her heated glare on the ceiling as she listened to Sayaka's and Makoto's conversation.

"She doesn't seem to care especially about me or Enoshima-san, and she's not targeting Monokuma-kun anymore either. We thought her goal was to keep him from creating any more Magi, but maybe she's only trying to keep Monokuma-kun from forming a contract with Naegi-kun specifically?"

"Eh?" Makoto stared at Sayaka in shock. "Why would she do that?"

"Because of your magical potential."

Sayaka paused, giving her words time to sink in. Makoto was staring at her in disbelief and Junko still wasn't talking, but based on the way she craned her head slightly towards them and the frustrated look on her face it seemed she was still paying close attention.

"Monokuma-kun only selects specific people to form contracts with. Each person he chooses has some amount of magical talent, though some have greater potential than others. When we form contracts, we gain some ability to sense the magical potential of others as well." Sayaka offered Makoto a gentle smile. "Naegi-kun, your potential is greater than anything I've ever felt before. I have no doubt that you'll become a very powerful Puer Magi."

 _((Upupupupu...))_ Monokuma dropped the bag of chips he'd been digging into and climbed up into the table. (( _'Very powerful' is the understatement of the year! Although, it depends on the kind of wish you make as well, but if you were to form a contract with me you'd be able to take down Witches like the one from today, no problemo!))_

Makoto couldn't process what he was hearing. He had that much potential? Him? Arguably the most plain and unimpressive person in Hope's Peak Academy's Main Course?

"You're not unimpressive, Naegi-kun."

Makoto jolted. "How did-"

"I'm psychic," Sayaka cut him off with a serious expression, before flashing a sweet smile. "Just kidding! I just have really good intuition!"

Junko snorted.

"But it's true, Naegi-kun. You don't give yourself enough credit." She reached across the table and took one if his hands in hers. Instantly Makoto's face flushed scarlet. "You're a wonderful person Naegi-kun. Don't feel like you have to become a Puer Magi. You should only do it if you're absolutely certain you want to do it."

"Uh, I- I..." Makoto tried to find a response, but it was like his tongue was made of lead. It floundered uselessly in his mouth and he forgot how to speak.

Junko burst out laughing.

"It's rising! Maizono-san's triggered Naegi-kun's affection flag!" she cried while Sayaka giggled and Makoto pulled his hood over his head to hide his rising blush.

* * *

Once again, Makoto returned home late. Again, he explained that he lost track of time while spending time with friends and again, his parents accepted his excuse without question. Head still swimming, Makoto headed straight to his room with the intention of working on his homework but even when he pulled out his books and notes and put them in front of them he couldn't force himself to think about school. The notes may as well have been written in Greek for all the good they did him.

Before he knew it he ended up doodling. Absentmindedly he scrawled out images of Junko and Sayaka and Mukuro in their Puella Magi outfits, and when he filled up three pages with them he started doodling himself as Puer Magi. How he imagined he'd look, anyway. He wasn't all that creative, so the outfit in his doodles closely resembled the Hope's Peak Academy uniform, though he added some embellishments and details to make it more 'magical' looking.

His hand paused mid-stroke as a knock came at the bedroom door.

"Hey, Makoto?" Komaru called through the door. "There's some guy here for you. He says he's a friend of yours from school.

Hurriedly, Makoto threw his notebook shut and tossed it onto his bed next to where Monokuma was sitting.

Makoto wasn't sure who would have come to his house this late at night. He was pretty sure none of his classmates knew where he lived and he hadn't really talked to anyone besides Junko and Sayaka yet. Maybe Ishimaru found out where he lived and was coming to tell him about something important for school? Or maybe one of the guys who'd ganged up on him the previous day?

It wasn't Ishimaru, nor was it Leon or Mondo or Hiro. Standing by his front door, much to Makoto's surprise, was Fujisaki Chihiro.

"Fujisaki-kun?" Makoto said, raising an eyebrow. "What are you doing here?"

Chihiro smiled at him. Brushing past Komaru, he walked right up to Makoto and took the smaller boy's hands in his. Makoto couldn't help feeling awkward because Chihiro was so much taller than him, and was currently leaning down so that their faces were close together. He beamed at Makoto, seemingly unconcerned with how this looked or the fact that Makoto's sister was standing just a few feet away.

"Fujisaki-kun, what are you-?"

"Naegi-kun, you're a Puer Magi too!"

* * *

(AN: I'm glad to have gotten this chapter out so quickly. There's a specific pattern I'm following for who is and isn't a Magi in my story. Maybe it's obvious, but maybe it isn't. Also, anyone know who the Witch in this chapter used to be?)


	3. The Fancy Jewelry Club

"Naegi-kun, you're a Puer Magi too!"

Makoto's face went pale. Chihiro too? And why was he at his house? And why did he say that in front of Komaru!?

"I made a contract too!" Chihiro babbled excitedly, oblivious to Makoto's growing distress and the suspicious look growing on Komaru's face. "We can fight together-"

Makoto didn't let him finish. Suddenly Chihiro found himself being pulled along - and it was surprising how easily Makoto managed to drag him along, considering the sheer difference in their statures - into Makoto's room. Makoto slammed the door shut behind them, leaving a bewildered Komaru out in the hall by herself.

Chihiro seemed equally surprised by Makoto's reaction, but as the shock wore off and he realized what he'd done, his eyes welled with tears and he raised his hands to his mouth.

"I-I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking... I'm sorry."

Makoto used to think it was just girls he hated to see cry. Nope. Apparently he hated it when guys cried too.

"I'm not mad!" Makoto insisted, putting his hands up in a disarming gesture. "I swear! I was just startled because you showed up so suddenly and then you said that in front of Komaru and I don't have any idea how I'm going to explain that to her and please don't cry!"

A knock came at his door.

"If I hear any weird sounds in there, I'm telling Mom and Dad!" Komaru threatened, sounding annoyed. Makoto blushed.

"Go away Komaru!" he snapped. Chihiro, tears still dotting the corners of his eyes, laughed.

"I'm sorry, I really didn't mean to cause trouble," he said as he wiped his eyes. "Look at me, I'm pathetic, aren't I?"

Makoto jumped to refute Chihiro's words before he knew what he was doing.

"That's not true!" he insisted. "You're not pathetic. I'm sorry I freaked out on you."

Chihiro let out a sigh of relief and smiled.

"But what are you doing here?" Makoto asked. "And what do you mean I'm a Puer Magi 'too?'"

Before Chihiro got a chance to answer, they heard a familiar (( _Upupupupu_!))

"Oh! Monokuma-kun's here!" Chihiro commented. Monokuma ignored him, focusing instead on Makoto.

(( _What Prince Charming here means is he made a contract with me and became a Puer Magi of course!_ )) Monokuma said. (( _Of course, he got one tiny detail wrong..._ ))

Monokuma didn't have to explain where the misunderstanding occurred. Turning back to Chihiro, Makoto offered him an apologetic shrug and said, "Sorry, I'm not actually a Puer Magi yet."

"Eh?" Chihiro's gaze left his face, going lower, and Makoto realized he was looking for a ring that wasn't there. Makoto raised his hands so Chihiro could see them better. "B-but, during class! I heard your conversation with Monokuma and I thought..."

(( _I made the offer,_ )) Monokuma said when it didn't look like Chihiro was going to continue. (( _But Makoto here is too wishy-washy for my tastes. Maybe you can help him along? I need him to wrap this up quick so I can move on._ ))

"I see." The expression on Chihiro's face seemed disappointed.

"Why did you want to know if I was a Puer Magi, Fujisaki-kun?" Makoto asked, snapping Chihiro out of his thoughts.

"Eh!? Uh, well, I..." The taller boy started playing with his hands, avoiding eye contact as he spoke. "I was, um, excited to meet another Puer Magi... A Magi who's a boy, I mean. Most of the Magi in our class are girls, and I get so nervous talking to them, so..."

Makoto tilted his head in confusion. "I'm surprised someone who looks like you has trouble talking to girls," he admitted.

Chihiro seemed to shrink even further into himself, and Makoto realized he'd made a mistake.

"Er, I mean-"

"No, it's okay." Chihiro cut him off before Makoto could babble out some pathetic excuse. "I understand. I thought if I got stronger I'd be able to have more confidence in myself, but it didn't work..."

(( _Don't blame me for that!_ )) Monokuma cried, even though nobody was. (( _You were super specific with your wish, but even if you weren't I'm not some monkey's paw that intentionally screws up your wish for shits and giggles! I granted you exactly what you asked for! If what you_ really _wanted was confidence then you should have wished for that instead!_ ))

Makoto stared at Monokuma with a blank look on his face, having almost forgotten about the mascot sitting on his bed. Chihiro looked surprised to see him as well.

"What did he mean by that?" Makoto asked, turning back to Chihiro. "What did you wish for?"

"I, um... Well..." Chihiro tugged at his collar nervously, avoiding eye contact.

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to," Makoto assured him. "I was just curious."

Chihiro appeared relieved to hear that. "Thank you. Maybe I will tell you eventually, but I don't think I can talk about it right now."

It was strange. Chihiro seemed so sweet and gentle. Makoto couldn't imagine him rushing into battle to the death. Then again, a few days ago he wouldn't have imagined Sayaka doing so either. Now he was kind of curious to see what Chihiro looked like when he transformed and what his powers were.

"Naegi-kun," Chihiro's gentle voice derailed Makoto's train of thought, "do you actually want to to become a Puer Magi?"

"Hm, yes? No? I'm not sure..."

He trailed off. It was a bit hard to confess his thoughts to Sayaka and Junko who, even before they were accepted into Hope's Peak, were exceptional people with incredible talents. He got the impression Chihiro would understand, however. With the way Chihiro talked, it seem like he would get where Makoto was coming from, and since he was already Puer Magi Makoto hoped the taller boy could advise him.

"The thing is, I'm pretty much hopelessly average. I really don't have much going for me when it comes to grades, special abilities, personality... Even my interests are really average and boring. My only strong point is that I'm a little more gung-ho than most people.

"It doesn't really bother me. I mean, not usually. That's always just been how I am. But ever since Monokuma told me I could become a Puer Magi, I got thinking... If I can really defeat Witches by making a contract, then I can help a lot of people, and I think that's something I really want to do."

Chihiro's eyes had gone wide. "Naegi-kun..."

"But I'm not a hundred percent sure it's something I can do. I mean, I don't even know what I want to wish for. And I know if I got hurt or killed in battle, that would really hurt my family and I don't want to do that to them."

Behind him, Monokuma huffed and flopped down face-first on the bed. Neither boy paid him any attention, assuming he was just going back to sleep after growing bored of listening to their conversation.

"...Do you really mean that, Naegi-kun?" Chihiro asked after a pregnant pause. Makoto started to worry he'd made a mistake by dumping all of that on Chihiro.

"Well, yeah," he admitted. "That's not wrong, is it?"

Smiling, Chihiro shook his head.

"Not at all. I think you're a very good person, Naegi-kun. And you're right to take into consideration what your family would think. But you know, whether or not you form a contract, the Witches will be a threat. Someone's got to deal with them, you know?"

That was true.

"You have noble reasons for wanting to become a Puer Magi," Chihiro continued. "A lot of people don't. Not that I can blame them. My reasons for making a contract were selfish too. You're not obligated to do anything, but I think if you became a Puer Magi you'd be a good one."

A warmth blossomed in Makoto's chest at Chihiro's words. At best he'd thought Chihiro would call him naive for thinking the way he did.

"Thank you, Fujisaki-kun. You have no idea how much it helps to hear you say that."

Chihiro was practically glowing at this point. "I'm really glad I came to see you. I was too nervous to approach you in school today, but is it alright if we hang out tomorrow?"

"Of course!" Makoto replied excitedly. "I'd really like that!"

"That's good! I think I've taken up too much of your time already. I should probably head back to my dorm anyway."

"Let me walk you out," Makoto insisted.

Although Chihiro's visit had taken him totally by surprise, Makoto was thankful his classmate had come. He wondered if there was any chance of getting him to spend time with Junko and Sayaka as well. Chihiro may have been shy around girls, but Makoto thought it might be easier on him if they were all in a group, and since they were all Magi he thought it would be good for them to become friends.

Makoto walked Chihiro to the front door and bid him goodbye with the promise to meet in front of the school the next morning. Chihiro accepted eagerly, and with that he left, leaving Makoto alone with his thoughts. So there were even more Magi in their class besides Sayaka and Junko? Even if many of them were only fighting for their own reasons, Makoto was glad there were so many people willing to fight the Witches.

Maybe becoming a Puer Magi wouldn't be so scary after all. Because even if he got in a tough spot, he knew he had friends he could rely on.

* * *

A pained shriek pierced the night air and the world ran together in a blur of colors before returning to normal. Where once a Witch had stood, a Grief Seed hit the ground with a soft clink. Junko wore a satisfied smirk on her face as she bent down to collect her prize.

The moment the Grief Seed was in her possession her smile fell. Spinning on her heel, she found herself face to face with her older sister, who was dressed in her Puella Magi attire.

"'Bout time you showed up. Mind telling me what's been up with you lately?" Junko demanded, placing her hands on her hips. "You've always been a fuckin' spaz, but the way you've been acting the last couple days was way off the rails, even for you!"

"Isn't it obvious?" Mukuro replied, venom dripping from her tone. "I'm going to stop you."

Junko stared at her sister in stunned silence.

"Stop... me...?"

Slowly, the corners of her mouth quirked upwards in a smile.

"You're... going to stop... me?"

Slowly her smile grew until it was a manic grin splitting her face in two. Then the silence was shattered as she threw her head back and let out a horrific sound that less a laugh than a loud, inhuman howl.

"You're going to stop me!? A dumb, fat, slow cow like you!? That's rich! And here I didn't think you had a sense of humor sis!"

Mukuro didn't respond. She simply stared at Junko with a bored expression on her face. Finally Junko calmed down enough to speak again.

"Aright, you got me, but the joke's over. Time to drop the act."

This time Mukuro's expression changed. Her eyes narrowed the slightest bit and her jaw tightened.

"This isn't an act," she hissed. "I'm done being your doormat, and I'm not going to let you do whatever you want anymore. If you continue your current course of action, I will kill you."

Flashing a Cheshire grin, Junko tilted her head to the side and said, "Are you really threatening me? Really? Your beloved little sister?"

"You," Mukuro hissed as she raised her arm, and the silver buckler strapped to it shone in the lamplight, "are not my sister."

There was a flash of violet light. Junko stared at her sister expectantly, waiting for something to happen. Then she felt something wet drip down her forehead. With slow, jerky movements she reached up to wipe it away, and when she pulled her hand back it was covered in pink blood.

"You... shot me?" Junko asked in disbelief before her body melted. All that was left of her was a splash of bright pink on the blacktop. Even so, Mukuro remained on guard.

"I can't believe you really shot me!" Junko's voice cried out and Mukuro whirled around to find her sister standing behind her. Junko's face was flushed, sweat dripping down her forehead and cheeks, and a slight trail of drool ran down the corner of her mouth. "You tried to kill me! My own sister betrayed me! How wonderfully despair-ful! _Kyaaaaaaaaaaaah!_ "

Face set in a scowl, Mukuro growled, "Where are you hiding at?" Junko just laughed at her.

"You think I would tell you that?" In an instant Junko's tone and expression had changed. One arm was crossed over her chest while the other was held in front of her face as though she were pushing a pair of glasses up the bridge of her nose. When she spoke it was with the tone one would use to scold a misbehaving child. "If I did you'd just come and kill me. As much as I'd enjoy feeling the despair of being murdered by my own sister, I have too much planned to allow myself to die here and now."

And again, her tone changed. Adopting a playful pout, Junko curled her hands up in an imitation of a cat's paws and held them up to her chin while she held her knees together and spoke in a false cutesy tone.

" _Aaaaaaaw_ , is Mukuro-chan angry at me? Is she upset she didn't get to kill me? Or is she jealous because Makoto-chan likes me better than her? Tee-hee!"

Another flash of light, and a second Junko clone splattered across the pavement. A third appeared to take her place.

"Hit the mark, didn't I?" she teased.

"I'm not going to let you drag Naegi Makoto into your scheme," Mukuro said, eyes narrowing dangerously. "I won't allow it."

"Whaaaaaaaaaaa-? But big sis, Makoto-chan's become essential for my plan!" And once again, Junko's demeanor transformed. She pulled a notebook from nowhere and, using her magic, instantly restyled her hair into a ponytail and conjured a pair of glasses. Speaking like a school teacher giving a lecture, she continued, "Naegi-kun's enormous potential would be wasted if I didn't turn it to my own purposes. You can see why I can't let him go, can't you?"

A third Junko clone ended up a puddle on the ground.

" **You may as well give up, sis,** " Junko's voice echoed from everywhere at once as more clones appeared around Mukuro in a ring. None of their lips moved as they spoke, and each of them shambled, zombie-like towards Mukuro with eerie expressions and outstretched arms. " **Now that I know what you can do I can avoid your attacks easily. I just have to make sure I stay far, far away from you! Naegi-kun is going to be my tool to spread despair, and there's nothing you can do about it.** "

Mukuro stared at the nearest Junko clone. Then she was gone. There was a soft clink as something metallic hit the ground where she had been standing.

Junko's clones stared at the grenade passively until it exploded, swallowing them all up in flame. The smoke billowed into the sky and the flames licked at the flowers decorating the roadside memorial that had once been a Witch's favorite hunting spot.

* * *

The next morning Makoto checked and triple-checked his school bag for Monokuma before heading out. That didn't stop the bear from following him out the front door and after the third time Monokuma yelled at him to stop or slow down, Makoto gave up and just let Monokuma sit in his bag anyway.

When he arrived at the school he could see Sayaka and Junko as well as Chihiro waiting for him. Sayaka and Junko were engaged in conversation, but Chihiro was standing several feet away, avoiding looking in their general direction. Makoto supposed it was too much to hope that they would have spoken to each other on their own. He wondered if they even realized they were all waiting for the same person, or if they even knew the other was there at all?

"Enoshima-san! Maizono-san! Fujisaki-kun!" he called excitedly as he jogged the last short distance to his friends. "Good morning! Did I make you wait long?"

"Not at all!" Maizono assured him with a friendly smile as he approached. Then, turning to Chihiro, "So you were waiting for Naegi-kun as well?"

As soon as her eyes were on him, Chihiro flinched.

"I, yeah. I didn't realize..."

"Hey, you're in the club too, right?" Junko asked, cutting him off. When Chihiro stared at her with a blank look she raised her hand to scratch her neck, showing off her Magi ring as she did. "You know, the fancy jewelry club?"

"Oh! Yes! I'm... yes."

Now that they were out in public, it seemed Chihiro was being much more careful with his words. Or maybe he was just too shy to say any more.

Apparently oblivious to Chihiro's discomfort, Junko clapped her hands excitedly and exclaimed, "Cool! I've been wondering how many others were in our class!"

Sayaka, taking a more gentle approach, asked, "Why didn't you say anything yesterday, Fujisaki-kun?"

"I was... I guess I was just nervous to talk to you guys." Chihiro smiled nervously as he said this, tucking his hair behind his ear.

"You don't have to be nervous around us," Sayaka assured him. "We're all members of the Fancy Jewelry Club, after all. I'd like it if we could be friends."

(( _What are you even using code for?_ )) Monokuma demanded, cutting into their conversation before Chihiro could respond. (( _I can just act as a transmitter and let you communicate telepathically, remember? No need for that cliche cloak-and-dagger stuff!_ ))

(( _Four teenagers making faces at one another and meeting each other's eyes without saying anything would seem suspicious as well,_ )) Sayaka pointed out via telepathy while aloud she said, "Would you like to join us for lunch later? Enoshima-san, Naegi-kun, and I have kind of decided to make the rooftop our spot. Not too many people go there at once, and there's plenty of space to give us privacy."

"I'd like that," Chihiro replied. "Thank you, Maizono-san."

The four of them decided to head to class together, laughing happily and talking both aloud and in their heads as they did. It took a little while, but Makoto managed to get the hang of switching back and forth naturally. He was really glad Chihiro had joined their group. Their circle of friends was growing bigger.

* * *

There were a lot more people in class today. Leon's seat was still empty, and although she'd been in attendance the previous two days Sakura's seat now sat empty as well. Other than them and Celeste, everyone else was in their seats. Ishimaru seemed especially proud of that fact.

"I went around and collected everyone I could find!" he professed when Makoto expressed his surprise at the nearly full classroom. "With the exception of Celeste-san and Kuwata-kun, who were not in their rooms."

"What about Oogami-san?" Makoto asked.

"She has an excused absence," he said, not elaborating further. "But no matter! Those of us that are here will simply work even harder on their behalf!"

The rest of the class let out a collective groan.

"Do you come with an off switch?" Junko asked, earning a playful giggle from Sayaka.

* * *

The rest of the day progressed much as the past few days had. Although Chihiro was shy at first, Sayaka's gentleness and Makoto's kindness won him over quickly and he became much more comfortable in a short amount of time. Junko teasingly flirted with him a few times and burst out laughing when his face burned bright red. Fortunately for him, Sayaka and Makoto were able to keep her from taking it too far.

When the bell for lunch rang the three of them headed to the cafeteria to grab some school lunches to bring up to the roof with them. Once they were up there Junko immediately grabbed a seat in the center of the bench with Monokuma on her lap and started feeding him from her lunch box. Sayaka sat next to him while Makoto just sat on the ground next to Chihiro. As they ate Sayaka and Junko explained the Witch-hunting training they were giving Makoto and proposed Chihiro join them.

"What!? You want me to bring Naegi-kun into a Witch's labyrinth?" Chihiro asked incredulously, staring at the two girls in disbelief.

"Not all the time," Sayaka tried to assure him. "It's just so Naegi-kun can get an idea of how fighting Witches usually is. Enoshima-san and I have such busy schedules outside of class, we don't always know when we'll be able to go with Naegi-kun. Monokuma-kun isn't going to wait forever. We want to help Naegi-kun decide before it's time for Monokuma-kun to move on. Please?"

Chihiro still didn't seem convinced.

"Is it really okay?" he asked. "It's really dangerous, even for a Magi."

Makoto, touched as he was that Sayaka was arguing on his behalf, decided it was time for him to speak up.

"Please, Fujisaki-kun, I want to." He hoped he wasn't asking for too much. "I promise I won't get in your way. I just want to watch."

"It's not that I'm worried you'll get in the way," Chihiro insisted. "I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I brought you with me and you got hurt as a result."

That was a fair argument, and Makoto couldn't think of anything to say against it.

"But-"

Makoto perked up instantly.

"If you really are serious about becoming a Puer Magi, I guess it's only fair that you know what you're getting yourself into."

Makoto felt his heart swell and he flashed Chihiro a warm smile.

"Thank you, Fujisaki-kun!"

Though he was still apprehensive, Chihiro returned his smile.

"Well that works out perfectly!" Junko said. "'Cause I got stuff 'n' shit to do this afternoon!"

The smile fell from Chihiro's face as alarm took over.

"You mean _today_!?"

"The sooner the better!" Junko exclaimed, petting Monokuma aggressively. Sayaka frowned at her before offering Chihiro a more sympathetic look.

"Are you too busy this afternoon, Fujisaki-kun?"

"N-no, my afternoon's free," he replied. "I just wasn't expecting to start so soon." He took a deep breath, placing a hand over his heart as though to slow a frantic beat. Then he clenched his hands into fists and schooled his expression into one of determination. "Okay. This afternoon. I'm ready."

Sayaka smiled. "You don't have to be so nervous. I'll be there as well to back you up, and I have plenty of Grief Seeds in reserve so I'll let you keep any that we find."

"Thank you, Maizono-san. That's very kind of you."

Off to the side, Junko crossed her arms and nodded decisively. "At this rate, we might as well form a club for real! There's three of us, soon to be four, and we'll definitely be safer fighting Witches together than we ever were alone!"

Sayaka tilted her head, giving Junko a thoughtful look.

"I'm surprised, Enoshima-san. You never wanted to team up before."

For just a moment Junko stared at Sayaka with a blank expression. Abruptly she turned away, staring off at some unseen point in the distance. Makoto watched her strange reaction. Was she blushing?

"Yeah, well, what can I say? Naegi-kun's starting to get to me." He was? Really? Makoto felt the tiniest bit proud. "Plus... fighting with you yesterday was kinda... fun."

Junko looked really embarrassed to admit that. Makoto thought it was kind of sweet.

"Fighting Witches isn't supposed to be fun," Sayaka scolded, "but I know where you're coming from. I've never enjoyed fighting alone as much as I enjoyed fighting at your side, Enoshima-san."

Junko's blush deepened.

"Wow!" Chihiro exclaimed. "Even Enoshima-san has a cute side!"

And from there the pink dusting across her cheeks turned bright scarlet.

"What!?" Junko squawked, leaping to her feet. Monokuma yelped as he was suddenly thrown to the ground. "What's that supposed to mean!?"

Sayaka giggled as Chihiro hid behind Makoto, who did his best to calm a flustered Junko. Behind her Monokuma helped himself to the remains of Junko's lunch, watching their interaction with a blank expression as he did.

* * *

Junko had already left the school for her job by the time the final bell rang. Sayaka, Chihiro, and Makoto left together, Chihiro hanging back for just a bit to bid his farewell to Mondo and Hiro before joining his new friends. Unconcerned with being seen by anyone outside of the school, Monokuma rode on Makoto's shoulder.

Chihiro's Soul Gem was a deep green. He summoned it shortly after they left the school, using it to try to track down any stray trails left by a Witch, though he admitted that there wasn't a particularly good chance of finding a Witch near the school building.

"In comparison to the rest of the population, a greater percentage of people chosen to attend Hope's Peak tend to be chosen as Magi as well," Chihiro explained as he lead them through the city. "That's why Witches don't tend to linger near the school."

Makoto absorbed this information with a feeling of doubt. Then why was there one so close to the school on his very first day?

They spent hours walking around the city searching for some trace of a Witch. The sun sank lower and lower and the sky and the street lamps flickered on one by one. Eventually their search lead them to an elementary school. By this time of day, it was completely empty. At least... It should have been.

"Useless bitch..."

From a distance, the teenagers could hear the slurred rambling of a dour man who was lingering just outside the school. He was glaring at the building as though it had done something to offend him personally.

"Thinks I'm useless... Know she does..."

Sayaka held out her arm, stopping Makoto in his tracks, before stepping forward to confront the man.

"Show 'er... First the brat... Then it's 'er turn..."

The man hadn't noticed their presence yet, focused as he was on the school building. Even so, it seemed strange that he didn't react to Sayaka's presence, even when she transformed right behind him. The light was bright enough that he should have noticed it.

"Kill 'em... Kill 'em all..."

His rambling was cut short when Sayaka placed a hand on his shoulder.

"That's enough of that," she said as her magic enveloped him in a cocoon of light. "Time to wake up from this nightmare."

As though gravity had stopped working for him and him alone, the strange man floated backwards at Sayaka's direction until he was lying flat on his back on the ground. Now Makoto could see how strangely blank the man's eyes were. He could also see the bizarre black marking on the man's cheek.

"What is that?" Makoto asked as he watched Sayaka place her hand over it.

"A Witch's Kiss," Chihiro explained. As he spoke, a soothing blue glow seeped underneath the man's skin where Sayaka was touching him, and little by little the edges of the marking started to dissolve away. Monokuma elaborated.

(( _It's one of the ways Witches spread despair. When a human is infected with a Witch's Kiss it brings their darkest, most hopeless thoughts to the surface and can make them do things they would normally never do in their right mind._ ))

"It's bad enough that Witches attack people themselves," Chihiro said, "But they also force other people to do these things as well... I can't think of anything more evil."

When Sayaka pulled her hand away nothing remained of the marking.

In a burst of light, the cocoon vanished and Sayaka had returned to her normal clothes. The man blinked, staring in confusion at the twilight sky before registering the presence of the three teenagers who had come seemingly from nowhere.

"Where am... How did I get here?" he asked nobody in particular as he pushed himself into a sitting position with one hand while also cradling his head with the other. After a moment the confusion passed, to be replaced with abject terror. "Oh... God! I was-! I was going to-!"

The man's hand moved from his head to cover his mouth as he gagged and Sayaka rubbed soothing circles on his back.

"It's okay, it's over now," she assured him. "You were sleep walking and had a nightmare. That's all."

Sucking in deep lungfuls of air, the man fixed Sayaka a blank look. A moment passed and then he pushed himself shakily to his knees.

"I need to... go home. I have to beg her for forgiveness..."

Slowly the man shambled away, now free of the Witch's curse, but still reeling from its aftereffects. Sayaka, Chihiro, and Makoto watched him go, each with their own thoughts.

"Is he going to be okay?" Makoto asked when the man had finally vanished from sight. The two Magi nodded.

"The Witch's curse doesn't have a hold of him anymore, and it seems like he wants to make up with whoever it was he was talking about," Sayaka said. "Whatever happens between them, it will be better than what that Witch almost drove him to do."

Makoto was glad to hear that. That was one tragic news story he wouldn't be hearing the next morning.

He wondered if he would be able to rescue people like that if he became a Puer Magi.

Using the magic from his Soul Gem, Chihiro reformed a section of fence surrounding the school's play-yard into a gate which allowed the three of them easy access. Makoto was a bit wary about trespassing, but understood that if it was for the sake of hunting down and defeating a Witch it was necessary.

"The Witch is nearby," Chihiro said as they neared the school's soccer field. "Get ready."

From a distance, everything looked normal. As they got closer, however, Makoto could see a slight distortion in the chalk lines drawn on the grass. If it was out of the corner of his eye, he could see it writhing and rearranging itself, but when he looked at it directly it seemed to lie perfectly still. As they stepped nearer to the entrance of the labyrinth the distortions became more obvious until they were standing in front of the soccer goal at the far end. Like the previous one, the entrance to this labyrinth seemed to be a strange mural with warped, dark images hiding within elegantly drawn patterns and swirls. Chihiro forced the labyrinth open, and then they entered the maze together.

A path with white lines and numbers like what would be found on a track field ran through an empty space, with only a bottomless void on either side of it. It wound in loops and curves around soccer balls, footballs, basket balls, and tennis balls, all of which hung suspended in the air and rotated constantly without slowing down or stopping. The familiars inside this labyrinth resembled tiny wisps of smoke with smoldering embers for eyes and mouths. As soon as the three humans and one bear had stepped inside the labyrinth three of the familiars launched themselves at them, laughing wickedly as they did. Chihiro and Sayaka held up their Soul Gems and destroyed them with small flashes of green and blue light.

"Naegi-kun, stay behind me," Chihiro said as he transformed.

In his Puer Magi attire, Chihiro wore a dark green jacket with a white collar over a black vest that reached slightly past the end of the jacket. The outfit had golden buttons and cuff-links, as well as golden buckles on his polished black dress shoes. His Soul Gem became a glimmering green oval in the center of a bolo tie tied elegantly around his neck.

Holding out his hand, Chihiro caused a black puddle to form on the ground. The black rose and glowing green ones and zeroes ran through it until it reached the palm of his hand. Then the object solidified, the digital coating dispersing to reveal a golden staff.

The familiars, enraged by Chihiro's display of magic, launched themselves at full force. Showing uncharacteristic ferocity, Chihiro spun his staff in a series of complex and powerful maneuvers, striking down the familiars in rapid succession. Sayaka, who had transformed at the same time as Chihiro had, formed a crane-patterned barrier around him lest even one familiar slip by Chihiro. Not one did.

Unlike the last maze, with its disappearing and reappearing doors, they moved through different 'rooms' in this labyrinth by walking through soccer goal posts. With each room, the familiars got larger and larger, and their smoky haze grew thicker until it was difficult to breathe. Chihiro and Sayaka seemed to have no trouble, but Makoto's eyes were watering and he burst into a coughing fit every few moments.

Fortunately, whenever Sayaka erected her barrier the air inside seemed clean. Chihiro stood at the forefront, destroying or repelling most of the familiars while Sayaka stuck close to Makoto and cut down whatever Chihiro couldn't manage to stop. With the increasing waves, more and more were slipping past him.

New types of familiars were appearing as well; bizarre human-shaped constructs of smoke, each the size of a small child and wearing a PE uniform. They attacked by kicking soccer balls at high speeds. Every time a construct kicked a ball away a new one reappeared at its feet. Chihiro beat the soccer balls away with his staff and when one came close to striking Sayaka she sliced it in two with one of her swords. The two halves continued at the same speed of the original ball, and where they struck the ground they kicked up massive clouds of dirt.

"These familiars seem stronger compared to the ones we saw in the last labyrinth," Sayaka said as she observed this. "Which means the Witch will be stronger too. Keep your guard up, Fujisaki-kun!"

"R-right!" he called back as he swung his staff into a soccer ball to send it flying back at the familiar that had kicked it. The familiar died with a screech and for a brief moment the onslaught of soccer balls slowed.

"Maizono-san?" Makoto started, seeing his chance to talk to her without distracting her.

"Yes, Naegi-kun?"

"I... think I know what I want to wish for now."

She turned her head, just enough to see him out of the corner of her eye without losing sight of the familiars completely.

"Is it alright if I ask you what your wish is?"

He nodded. "But, I'm honestly kind of worried you'll laugh at me."

"I wouldn't do that." She turned her attention fully forward as the familiars' attack resumed, though now it seemed Chihiro had discovered the trick to defeating them easily and with each one he destroyed Sayaka had less pressure on her.

"...I almost didn't accept the invitation to attend Hope's Peak Academy. Not because I didn't want to or anything. I just... didn't think I belonged there."

A few more tiny wisps appeared. Sayaka threw her swords to impale them so Chihiro could focus on the larger familiars.

"I don't really have any talents or skills like you guys. My grades are about average at best, and my hobbies are nothing special either."

Chihiro charged forward. All of the soccer player familiars were focusing on him now, but he was moving too fast for them to hit.

"It's not like this ever bothered me. That's always just been how I am, but ever since I got accepted into Hope's Peak I've started wondering if it's really okay for me to stay like this."

Sayaka turned to stare at him. Her ever-present smile was gone from her face and her eyes were wide.

"But then, when Enoshima-san saved me from that Witch and Monokuma told me I could probably do the same thing, it made me really happy. And when I saw you save that guy back there I became even more sure."

Chihiro smashed through three familiars in rapid succession. Two more launched their missile-like soccer balls at him, but he deflected them with his staff.

"Naegi-kun," Sayaka breathed. "You don't have any obligation to become a Puer Magi just because Monokuma-kun chose you."

Makoto shook his head.

"I know I don't _have_ to. I _want_ to."

Chihiro leaped high into the air. Using one of the suspended footballs, he propelled himself higher in the air, holding his staff high in the air.

"Because I want to be someone I can be proud of. And I think, that just by becoming a Puer Magi-"

A black shape swimming with green ones and zeroes formed at the end of Chihiro's staff, giving it the appearance of a giant hammer.

"That my wish will be granted."

Chihiro slammed into the ground, his war-hammer sending a shock wave from its collision point that wiped out the remaining familiars. As they disappeared in bursts of smoke he straightened, his war-hammer turning back into a staff in a burst of green light.

"It won't be easy," Sayaka warned him. "Being a Puer Magi means you won't have time to date or have fun. You won't be able to talk about it with anyone either."

Shaking his head, Makoto replied, "You've got that wrong. I mean, I don't know about the dating thing, but I'll be able to talk to you, and Enoshima-san, and Fujisaki-kun! And even if we're fighting, I'll have fun by just spending time with you!"

Chihiro rejoined them, smiling at his easy defeat of the familiars.

"I think we're closer to the center of the labyrinth! Just a little more..." The smile fell from his face as he took in Sayaka's expression. Her eyes were wet with tears. "Maizono-san? What's wrong?"

"Nothing," she replied, furiously wiping the tears from her eyes. "I'm just really happy."

(( _Humans cry when they're happy too?_ )) Monokuma asked, perplexed. (( _What an irrational species. Well, whatever. Are you ready, Makoto? I'm ready to form a contract right here and now._ ))

With starry eyes, Chihiro turned to Makoto. "You've decided on a wish?"

"Not exactly," Makoto admitted. "The only thing I know for sure is that I definitely want to become a Puer Magi."

(( _You can just say, Monokuma-sama, please make me a Magi!_ )) Monokuma said, (( _But I don't know why you would. This is a once in a lifetime chance, after all._ ))

"Monokuma-kun has a point," Sayaka said. "Take it from someone who's had to to sign a lot of contracts in her life; you should be milking this for all it's worth." She said this with a teasing tone, flashing Makoto a playful wink. "After all, Monokuma-kun can grant you any wish you can think of."

Makoto chuckled. "Well..."

"I have an idea!" Chihiro said. "If by the end of this fight you still can't think of anything, wish for Monokuma-kun to throw us a party to celebrate us becoming a team!"

Blinking, Makoto asked, "What?"

"That's an excellent idea!" Sayaka chimed in. "We can invite Enoshima-san and have a wonderful party for just the four of us! We can have a big cake and play games together!"

"Wait!" Makoto protested. "Cake? A party? I can't make a wish like that!"

"Well then!" Sayaka spun on her heel and started strolling down the path towards the Witch's domain. "You'd better think of a wish before Fujisaki-kun and I finish off this Witch!"

"I personally wouldn't mind if you couldn't think of anything before then," Chihiro joked. "It just means we get to have some delicious cake."

Makoto stared at the two of them in stunned silence as they continued down the path through the labyrinth. He felt Monokuma shift slightly on his shoulder.

(( _I'm not opposed to it. The sooner you make a contract and start hunting Witches the better, I say!_ ))

Still reeling, Makoto followed the two Magi.

"A party?"

* * *

Sayaka and Chihiro cleared the last few rooms in the labyrinth with surprising ease. Chihiro transformed his staff into many weapons - a war-hammer, a massive axe, a two-handed sword - one after the other while Sayaka summoned dozens of short swords to stab and slice and destroy every familiar in her path. Before long the familiars were cowering at the sight of them, but the two Magi didn't let one escape.

Finally, they entered the lair of the Witch in the center of the labyrinth.

The central room stunk of alcohol. Its inside resembled something like a Roman Colosseum, though with chalk lines drawn on the dirt to resemble a soccer field. Band-aids and white earphones hung suspended in the air, like the sports equipment from the rest of the maze. Beer bottles as tall as grown men and women filled the stands, rocking and rattling against one another and jeering in hollow voices. In the center of it all sat the Witch itself, standing atop a pyramid of grey, humanoid figures. Each of the figures had gaping black holes where their eyes and mouths should have been, and were moaning in pain.

The Witch's form was covered in black and red stripes, starting from its neck and leading down to its drill-like hands. The head itself resembled a samurai's helmet, but when the face plate opened on its own Makoto could see its face was patterned like a soccer ball. The Witch let out a resounding wail before its face plate snapped closed and it stood. At that moment Makoto saw it wasn't sitting on top of the pyramid of bodies; those _were_ its lower body, from the waist down.

A crane-patterned barrier flickered into view before him at the wave of Sayaka's hand.

"I'm really looking forward to that party now," she said, summoning a short sword in each hand. "So let's finish this quickly!"

She launched an arc of short swords at the Witch. The tips of her blades dug into its surface, sticking in place. Roaring in anger the Witch shot one of its drill-like arms upwards, missing her as she sailed through the air over its head. A stream of dirt and debris rained down on it as its drill pierced the ceiling.

Sayaka continued to throw her swords, aiming for the Witch's joints and the spaces in its helmet while Chihiro aimed low. He transformed his staff into a war-hammer which he swung into the grey figures below its waist. The Witch howled in pain as the figures exploded into pink liquid, and it toppled over.

Sayaka was falling, but she didn't look scared. A swirling blue disk appeared under her feet, decorated with the same crane motif as the barrier she used to protect Makoto.

"Let's end this!" Chihiro cried out, flying forward. Leaping high into the air, with his war-hammer poised high over his head, he prepared to smash the Witch's head.

That's when the Witch's chest flew open. Chihiro screamed as a third drill shot out of the Witch's center and plowed directly into him.

"Fujisaki-kun!" Sayaka and Makoto screamed in unison.

Chihiro was thrown clear across the Colosseum, plowing into a pillar painted with the same red and black stripes as the Witch. Suddenly the Witch tore itself free of the mass of grey figures wrapped around its waist and- Oh! It had legs after all. Its lower legs were armored and covered with the same black and red stripes as its torso. With a sudden burst of speed it launched itself across the Colosseum, drills poised to finish of Chihiro.

Chihiro pulled himself from the crater created by his impact barely in time to avoid being impaled but the Witch whipped around, backhanding him with the other drill and sending him flying once again.

Sayaka leaped down from her vantage point, catching Chihiro before he could crash again. Her feet dragged in the dirt as she tried to hold her ground after he collided with her.

"Thank you, Maizono-san." He transformed his weapon from a war-hammer to a two-handed great sword, the end of the staff becoming the hilt while a blade constructed itself from his black and green digital magic.

He charged at the same time as the Witch and the two clashed in the center of the of the Colosseum. As large and heavy as that sword look, Chihiro's swings were impossibly fast. The ringing sound of metal striking metal filled the Colosseum as his blade met the drills. When it became clear that it couldn't kill him with its hands, the Witch's chest opened up again. The drill shot out, colliding with a crane-patterned barrier that flickered into existence between Chihiro and the Witch.

 _Clang! Clang! Clang!_

The Witch howled in frustration as it kept plowing its drills into the barrier to no avail. Chihiro took the opportunity to catch his breath, though he kept his eyes firmly locked on the Witch just in case.

 _Crack!_

A hair-thin line appeared in Sayaka's barrier. The Witch pounded away at it.

 _Crack! Crack!_

More lines appeared, spider webbing out from the original small crack. Chihiro braced himself for the moment when the barrier would break. It raised both of its arm-drills high in the air, preparing to bring them down and shatter the barrier with one final blow when-

 _Fwip! Fwip! Fwip!_

Three short swords flew threw the air, lodging themselves into the sides of the Witch's helmet. Arms still frozen above its head, it slowly turned to glare at the Puella Magi who'd thrown her swords at it.

Sayaka glared at the Witch furiously as she summoned two more swords.

Forgetting all about Chihiro, the Witch threw itself at Sayaka. Her next two swords found their mark in its helmet and she sprung up into the air moments before the Witch dug its drills into the ground where she had been standing. A series of crane-patterned disks appeared int he air and she leaped from one to the next, disks disappearing behind her and reappearing in front of her as she avoided the Witch. The Witch itself didn't give up the chase. It launched itself into the air, leaping from the tops of the pillars filling the Colosseum to chase after its prey. Sayaka continued to lead it in circles, pausing every once in a while to hurl a sword at it.

Down below Chihiro had transformed his great sword back into a war-hammer and run beyond the confines of Sayaka's barrier. He ran to the pillars in the Witch's path, and at the moment when it would have landed atop the next one he swung his war-hammer as hard as he could. The bottom of the pillar exploded in a cloud of black and red chips and collapsed underneath the Witch's feet, sending it plummeting to the ground far below.

Sayaka's barrier protected Makoto from the worst of it as the Witch's body sent a huge cloud of dust and dirt flying every which way. When the cloud cleared, the Witch was lying immobile and Sayaka and Chihiro were standing side by side over it.

"Alright," Chihiro said, turning his war-hammer into a great-axe and raising it as though to behead the Witch. "Time to finish it."

At that moment, a red gleam appeared in the center of the Witch's chest. Sayaka's eyes widened the slightest bit, but Chihiro didn't react.

"Fujisaki-kun! Look out!"

The next few seconds were a blur of motion. One moment Chihiro was standing there, prepared to behead the Witch. The next he was lying several feet away, his weapon turned back into an ordinary staff, and the Witch was standing over the spot where he'd been, the drill in its chest extended to impale him. Instead, the drill had struck the person who had pushed him out of the way.

Makoto stared in horrified silence as Sayaka gasped in pain, blood trickling from the gaping wound on her stomach and dribbling down her chin. With slow, jerky movements she raised her hand, weakly grasping one of her swords. Before anyone could do anything, the Witch plowed one of its drills into her head, completely smashing her skull.

Makoto screamed.

Blood ran down the grooves of the Witch's drill as it slid it out of Sayaka's corpse, dripping on her white top which had reappeared in a flash of blue light the moment she died. Chihiro, tears in his eyes, glared at the Witch. Rolling over, he made a grab for his staff but suddenly the Witch's foot plowed into him, sending him sprawling several feet away from it. Makoto watched helplessly as the Witch slammed its foot down on Chihiro's prone form. Over. And over. And over again.

(( _Makoto, you have to make a wish!_ )) Monokuma cried. Makoto didn't respond. (( _If you don't, Chihiro will die too! Hurry!_ ))

But he couldn't. He couldn't move any part of his body, not even his mouth to say 'I wish.' Powerless to do anything, Makoto watched as Chihiro was pounded into the ground by the relentless Witch.

As the Witch was raising its foot one last time, however, something strange happened. A flash of violet light enveloped the knee of the opposite leg. For just a second, time seemed frozen. Then, with no explanation, the Witch's leg burst apart at the knee and it toppled backwards. Slowly, Chihiro raised his head to stare at the Witch in confusion.

"How did...?"

The answer came in the form of a dark-haired girl wearing a black dress with a purple diamond motif. She stood between the Witch and Makoto, who was left undefended the moment Sayaka had died and her barrier dissipated.

Throwing a glance over her shoulder, Mukuro asked, "Are you hurt, Naegi Makoto?"

Still unable to find his voice, Makoto could only manage the tiniest shake of his head. She turned her back to him to face the Witch.

"Good. Please stand back."

The Witch twisted and tried to stand up. More of the strange grey creatures from before swarmed its legless stump and built themselves up underneath it to support its weight. Mukuro approached the Witch casually, apparently unconcerned with the fact that it had just killed Sayaka and nearly killed Chihiro. With a howl, the Witch raised a drilled hand and brought it down on top of her. Mukuro disappeared in a cloud of dirt as the drill pierced the ground. Feeling sick to his stomach, Makoto cried out, but when the dirt cleared Mukuro was nowhere to be seen. There wasn't even a blood spatter where she had been.

Makoto blinked, realizing that Mukuro was standing several feet away, looking entirely unimpressed with the Witch's attack.

Slowly the Witch craned its head until it was looking her. Then its drill arm became a blur as it swiped at her again. Again, she vanished into thin air. Mukuro reappeared even further away, close to the pillars lining the Colosseum. The Witch shambled towards her, its movements somewhat slower on its prosthetic made of what Makoto could now see were corpses. In a flash of red the Witch's chest burst open and its drill shot out, but again Mukuro was gone before its attack even landed. This time she didn't reappear right away. There were two simultaneous flashes of violet light and the bases of the pillars exploded, collapsing in a heap on top of the Witch. It howled and writhed underneath the rubble while Mukuro reappeared right in front of it. Although its face lacked the capacity to display emotions, it seemed to glare at her. A moment passed in which she simply stared at it with bored indifference, and then she turned her back and started to walk away. Makoto and Chihiro stared in confusion. Once she had put some distance between herself and the Witch and explosion went off, swallowing up the Witch and the rubble in a pillar of flame.

The world began to warp and shift and Mukuro, in a flash of violet light, returned to her normal form. She came to a stop in front of Makoto.

"You were very lucky," she said, voice not betraying the barest hint of emotion. "If I hadn't chanced by that Witch would have killed Fujisaki, and you as well. You understand now, don't you?"

Nothing remained of the pillars, or the Witch. There wasn't even a scorch mark where the explosion had gone off. The only indication that anything had happened was the Grief Seed sitting innocuously in the grass. Chihiro made no move to grab it. Slowly he pulled himself to his feet, staring at Mukuro and Makoto as he wondered whether or not to intervene.

"This is what being a Magi means; constant battle, and the inevitability of an early death." She turned on her heel, going to collect the Grief Seed. "Never forget that."

Unable to respond, Makoto fell to his hands and knees. Mukuro disappeared, leaving Makoto and Fujisaki alone in the soccer field. Makoto didn't notice the tears rolling down his cheeks until they splashed on the backs of his hands.

* * *

Chihiro stayed at Makoto's side until his tears trickled to a stop, and then he walked the smaller boy home. Though he'd been tearing up during the fight, he seemed remarkably more composed now. Makoto wondered if Chihiro had ever seen anyone die before. He couldn't find the voice to ask.

When they arrived at Makoto's house Chihiro made up a story about Makoto not feeling well to his parents when they asked about Makoto's strange disposition. Telepathically, Chihiro assured Makoto that he didn't have to come to school the next day. That he should take as much time as he needed to recover. Makoto couldn't force himself to respond, not even in his thoughts.

(( _If you've changed your mind about becoming a Puer Magi, I understand,_ )) Chihiro continued, even after the door had closed and Makoto had isolated himself in his room. (( _It's okay. I know what you must be thinking. Take care of yourself, Naegi-kun._ ))

Outside Monokuma, who Chihiro had taken off of Makoto's hands, started to protest but Chihiro quickly silenced him. Without bothering to change his clothes or even take off his shoes, Makoto collapsed in his bed and curled himself into a ball.

"Sayaka..." Her name was the first word to pass his lips since her death. As soon as it had the tears began to flow freely. He buried his face in his pillow to muffle the sounds of his sobbing, staying like that until exhaustion took him and he drifted off to sleep.

* * *

"So Maizono bit it, huh?" Junko let out an annoyed huff as she continued stirring the curry. "That fuckin' figures. Did she have to go and do it while Naegi-kun was watching?"

(( _It definitely makes things more difficult,_ )) Monokuma replied. (( _The kid was ready to go ahead and make a contract up until he saw her die. Now he's all weepy and locking himself in his room like an anime heroine whose love interest died! Well, I guess that kind of_ is _what happened, but still!_ ))

"No use complaining about it. Just back off Naegi-kun for a little while. I'll get him to reconsider." She raised the spoon to her lips and tasted it. "Hm, could use a little more salt. What do you think, darling?"

Behind her, the room's third occupant screamed behind his gag. The old man had no idea what was going on, how this strangely-dressed girl had gotten into his house, who she was talking to, or why she had taped his eyeball open with bunny-patterned band-aids. His other eye was twitching uncontrollably as his pried open eye burned from his inability to blink. He was taped to a chair, arms and legs bound, completely unable to move, with his face forced through a cardboard cutout of a cartoon bunny with 'I'm a forty-three-year-old trustee' written on it in sharpie.

Junko hummed happily to herself as she poured a helping of curry over the rice on a plate, making a seemingly pleasant-looking dinner. This situation was anything but pleasant.

"Soup's on!" she beamed, grabbing a spoon and turning to the trustee with a smile. Her black ribbons bounced as she spun around. She scooped up a spoonful of curry and held it up to the man's lips.

Of course, bound and gagged as he was, the trustee couldn't eat the curry or do much of anything else besides whimper. Smile never faltering, Junko ate the spoonful herself.

"That's the thing about torture," she said, mostly to herself as the trustee couldn't respond and Monokuma didn't care, "you use familiar, everyday stuff, and it's so much worse!" She took another bite of curry, and continued eating as she spoke. "How many potential weapons do you think we handle on a daily basis? The more harmless they seem, the more the trauma really sticks!"

Monokuma watched, expressionless, as Junko soaked up the man's suffering.

"Lucky! That's despair you're feeling!" There was a bit of curry and rice stuck to the spoon. She didn't care. Still smiling, she lowered it to the man's watering eyeball. "Say _aaaaaaaaaahhhh_!"

The trustee screamed behind the gag. Monokuma watched the whole thing, keeping his thoughts to himself as he watched the Puella Magi ripped the ordinary human's eyeball out with a mundane spoon, rather than using her magic to remove it easily.

Humans really were strange creatures.

* * *

( **AN** : I mean, everyone reading this already _knows_ Junko's up to no good, so there's no point in trying to keep it a secret from the audience, right? Please bear with me if you think this is too similar to the original plot of PMMM. It will be more similar in the earlier chapters, but it will deviate more and more as the story progresses. Since I have a large cast of characters to work with and more people's stories to write, that gives me more to work with between now and the end game.

Also, to the person who keeps asking: No, this isn't going to be a harem story. It never will be. I do not like the idea of harems and will not include them in my writing. That is all.)


	4. It's Almost Too Good to be True

( **Warning:** This chapter includes an attempted rape scene. It's not graphic, and it doesn't go far, but I didn't want to take anyone by surprise with this. It also includes some darker elements, including mentions of suicide. From here on out the story will probably continue to get even darker.)

* * *

It was a beautiful day. The sun was shining, warming the school roof, but it wasn't so hot as to be uncomfortable. A few fluffy white clouds dotted a crystal blue sky creating a perfectly picturesque backdrop against the towering school. Taking advantage of the gorgeous weather, two teenagers sat together on the roof eating their lunch.

It really was an ideal scene.

 _Almost too good to be true._

"Naegi-kun, do you mind if I ask you just one question?"

Makoto paused in his chewing, surprised by Sayaka's sudden request.

"You don't need to ask if you can ask a question," he assured her after swallowing. She smiled at him.

"I just thought it would be better than coming out of nowhere," she explained, "but if you insist..." The smile slipped from her face and, with a completely serious expression, Sayaka asked, "Do you have a girlfriend Naegi-kun?"

In an instant Makoto's face had gone completely red and he dropped his chopsticks in surprise. "Wh-Whaaaat!?"

Nearby Monokuma clamped his paws over his ears and dove headfirst into Makoto's school bag.

Trying and failing to regain his composure, Makoto asked, "Wh-where is this coming from all of the sudden!?"

Sayaka seemed almost disappointed as she said, "Does that reaction mean you do?"

"N-no, no, no, I don't! I've never had a girlfriend!" he spit out frantically. Somewhere in the back of his mind he was aware of how ridiculous and desperate he looked, but instinct had taken over and was running this train wreck.

"Then..." Sayaka asked shyly, "is there someone you like?"

"H-hold on a second!" Makoto interrupted, not wanting to step on that particular land mine. "What's all this about? Why are you asking me these questions?"

"I'm asking because I'm curious!" Her cheeks were tinged pink. "Is that so wrong?"

"I-it's not that it's wrong, I just..."

Expression growing serious again, Sayaka said, "It's perfectly natural for me to wonder about that. After all, you and I are..."

Makoto could feel his heart pounding in his chest so hard it must have been visible through his hoodie.

"...allies contending with the same problem!"

Ah, so that's what she was getting at. Well, she wasn't wrong. It was only fair for her to wonder about that in this situation. Absentmindedly, Makoto ran his thumb over the ring on his middle finger.

"But actually..."

Makoto perked up.

"There's more to it than that. You and me, our relationship goes beyond that of just 'allies.'" She beamed at him. "We're friends! And we have been since middle school!"

A part of Makoto couldn't help being disappointed to hear that, but it paled in comparison to the part of him that was glad to hear that she genuinely enjoyed his company, even when they had no obligation to spend time with one another.

"Are you not going to ask me?" Sayaka said when a moment passed and Makoto didn't continue the conversation. He stared at her, not immediately following.

"Huh? Ask you what?"

"You... know what I'm talking about," she insisted. "Whether or not I have a boyfriend."

In truth, Makoto was a bit curious, but he couldn't help being worried about the answer he would receive. Besides, he distinctly remembered Sayaka saying something on that subject not so long ago.

"I mean, I guess I just kind of assumed... Because you're so busy with your idol job and hunting down Witches..." Then again, Sayaka was incredibly beautiful and popular, and somehow made time for school, and her job, and being a Puella Magi. If anyone could figure out a way to handle all that and a boyfriend, it would probably be her.

"Well, you would be correct about that. I do not have a boyfriend!" Sayaka chimed. Apparently his original assumption was correct after all! "It's like you said; I've been so busy I haven't had the time to find someone."

Feeling a little guilty for his relief at the news, Makoto asked, "Th-then, is there someone you like?"

"Hm, I wonder?" Sayaka hummed thoughtfully, though there was a playful twinkle in her eye. "Let's just say there's someone I've got my eye on..."

As she said that she glanced at Makoto out of the corner of her eye. There was a delicate dusting of pink across her cheeks. Makoto felt his own cheeks heat up in response and he wondered if she was implying what he thought she was implying or if that was just his wishful thinking at work.

"However, I've decided to put my feelings on the back burner for now," she said, breaking off eye contact. "Dealing with the Witches is my top priority."

"Y-yeah, of course," Makoto agreed, nodding eagerly.

"Let's defeat them together, Naegi-kun." She fixed him with a look of sheer determination. "You, me, Fujisaki-kun, Ikusaba-san, and Enoshima-san... Let's all work hard together and defeat Walpurgisnacht!"

 _..._

 _Walpurgisnacht? What was that again?_

"Of course!" Her determination fueled his own. "We'll defeat it... And maybe after we do things will calm down enough for us to relax a little."

Sayaka beamed. Cheeks coloring once again, she said, "What I'm about to tell you... comes straight from my heart." She took a deep breath. "I'm really glad you're here with me, Naegi-kun!"

The sight of Sayaka's serene smile filled Makoto with a sense of strength. It was as though he was being recharged by that smile alone. If she weren't there at his side, Makoto doubted he would have found the courage to face what they knew was coming on his own. Her friendship gave him power, and realizing that he felt an overwhelming desire to fight. Not just for himself, but for Sayaka as well, who was missing the life of an ordinary high-schooler more and more with each passing day.

"You'll fight for me?" Sayaka said suddenly, snapping Makoto out of his thoughts. "That's so sweet!"

"Huh?! You heard that?"

"Of course. I'm psychic!" Sayaka replied, completely deadpan. She maintained the expression for all of three seconds before she burst out into a giggle. "Just kidding! It was my intuition! But..." She fixed him with a serious expression once more. "Is it true? Is that really what you were thinking?"

"U-uhh... Um, well..." Makoto averted his eyes. Sucking in a deep breath, he plastered a determined expression on his face. "A-anyway! If we work together, I'm positive we'll defeat Walpurgisnacht!"

 _That word again?_

 _What did it mean?_

 _Why did it slip from his lips so easily?_

"I'll do everything I can!" he cried, the green gemstone on his ring gleaming in the afternoon sun.

"Yes, let's!" Sayaka replied, feeling emboldened by Makoto's courage. "I'll do everything I can as well."

 _...Did this ever actually happen?_

A warmth blossomed in Makoto's chest at Sayaka's words. He carved them into his soul. One last big battle, and then they would be free.

 _When..._

 _Is this really real?_

 _..._

 _No, it can't be..._

 _Because..._

* * *

 **Because Makoto could never forget the sight of Sayaka's headless corpse.**

* * *

Morning came entirely too soon. Even the faint light peeking through Makoto's curtains was too much and caused his sensitive eyes to burn, though no tears came. His head throbbed and he squeezed his eyes shut and buried his face into his tear-stained pillow to hide from the light. Absentmindedly he registered that his alarm must have been close to going off and when he pried his eyes open he found it only had two more minutes to go.

He didn't want to get up. He wanted nothing more than to toss his alarm clock out the window, pull the blankets over his head, and return to his dreams where Sayaka was alive and well and smiling at him, but he knew he couldn't do that. Time didn't stop flowing for one person's death, and Sayaka would have been ashamed to see him like this. So, with one minute to spare, Makoto shut off his alarm and shoved his blankets aside.

Monokuma was noticeably absent that morning, something for which Makoto was grateful. He didn't want to be near anything or anyone that reminded him of that at the moment. Makoto moved on auto-pilot as he completed his morning routine. When he joined his sister in the kitchen he found a note taped to the fridge reminding him that he didn't have to go to school if he still wasn't feeling well. He pulled it off the fridge and stuffed it into his pocket before searching for the breakfast his dad had prepared the night before.

Of his parents, Makoto's dad was the better cook, but everything Makoto ate tasted like mush, dull and flavorless in his mouth. Dimly he was aware of Komaru watching him out of the corner of her eye. He forced himself to eat until he was full, even though every bite made him want to gag, and then excused himself, leaving his meal half-finished.

* * *

There was no one waiting for him outside the school when Makoto finally arrived. That suited him just fine, because he didn't think he could find it in himself to force a conversation anyway. The path leading up to the school was filled with students talking, laughing, complaining, goofing around, just continuing their lives as usual. It was strange. Although Makoto could hear their voices, their words didn't register. Although he see them in front of them, their faces remained strangely blank in his mind. It was almost like he was trapped in another dream, or on another planet. Everything and everyone was just so cheerfully normal that it was painful.

None of these people knew that Sayaka was dead. None of them knew she had died so horribly. None of them would ever know how she died.

Never before had Makoto felt alone as he did now.

* * *

Chihiro was shocked to see Makoto in class. Out loud he asked if Makoto was feeling any better after getting sick the previous day, while speaking telepathically he asked if Makoto was sure he should have been coming to school. Makoto didn't remember exactly what he said, but somehow or other he managed to convince Chihiro that he was fine. Chihiro seemed reluctant to accept Makoto's words, but eventually gave up. Still, he sat next to Makoto - in the seat that used to belong to Sayaka - and kept a close eye on the grieving boy.

Makoto didn't realize it right away, but Junko was absent from class that day. Selfishly, he wished she was there. She and Sayaka had seemed close, and the way they talked he got the impression that they knew each other even before meeting at Hope's Peak. Chihiro and Sayaka got along well enough, but Makoto wanted someone else to mourn her with him.

Something else that was missing from the class that day was the by-now-familiar sensation of Mukuro's eyes on the back of his head. Makoto didn't even realize she was missing until she walked into class about half an hour after the bell had rung, apologized curtly for her tardiness, and took her usual seat near the back of the room.

Did the Ultimate Soldier also have a job she had to go do outside of class? Or was she late because she was held up fighting a Witch? One day would she just stop coming to class, with no explanation? And Chihiro or Junko?

The day passed by in a blur. Makoto barely heard anything any of the teachers said and when they noticed him staring off into space and called on him to answer questions Chihiro fed him the answers via telepathy. Makoto didn't understand the context of the words he was saying, but the teachers seemed satisfied and eventually left him alone.

* * *

Classes seemed to drag on. After what felt like an eternity the bell signalling the start of lunch finally rang. Chihiro walked Makoto up to the roof before going to get lunch for the both of them. Makoto was thankful for his presence. He didn't know what he would do without Chihiro.

"Here you are," Chihiro said as he set one of Hope's Peak Academy's elegantly prepared school lunches on Makoto's lap. "I wasn't sure what you liked, so I just went with Lunch A. It seemed pretty safe. I hope that's oka-"

Chihiro was cut off the the door leading to the roof suddenly swinging open.

"Naegi!"

When Makoto looked up from the lunch tray on his lap he was met with the sight of a pink blur rushing towards him. He barely had time to react before that blur had crashed into him and captured him in a bone-crushing hug.

"Enoshima-san, you're hurting him!" Chihiro's voice cried before Makoto had registered the pain himself. Dimly Makoto was aware of the clattering sound of his lunch tray hitting the ground as Junko accidentally upset its balance. At Chihiro's words she abruptly let go.

"Monokuma told me what happened!" she cried as she loosened her hug. "I can't believe Maizono-san... Dammit!"

He nails were digging harshly into Makoto's shoulders, but he didn't mind. He found the pain grounded him, reminded him of what was real.

"She died fighting a Witch," Makoto confirmed. It was the first full sentence he'd spoken all day.

"What about you?" Junko pressed. "Are you okay?"

"Ah, yeah."

He didn't elaborate further. Chihiro shot a concerned look in his direction for just a moment before lowering his eyes to the ground.

"Ikusaba-san showed up just in time," he clarified. Clasping his hands together over his chest, he continued, "She- I couldn't do anything. Maizono-san died saving me from the Witch's attack, and then Ikusaba-san appeared and killed it."

At the mention of her sister Junko's nails dug harshly into Makoto's shoulders, and then as she realized what she was doing she let go of him abruptly.

"Mukuro was there?" she asked, voice lowering to an agitated hiss. "What did she do?"

Makoto looked up and Chihiro flinched at Junko's suddenly harsh tone.

"N-nothing! Like I said, she showed up and killed the Witch. Before..." He shot a nervous glance at Makoto.

' _Before the Witch could kill us_ ,' hung unsaid in the air.

Junko narrowed her eyes. Chihiro flinched as she glared at him, but a few seconds later he realized she wasn't really glaring at _him_ , but rather in response to what he'd said.

"So..." she said, standing slowly with her head tilted forwards so that her bangs hung in her eyes, obscuring the expression on her face, "she sacrificed Maizono-san for the Grief Seed."

Makoto's eyes widened in horror and without thinking he shouted, "No, that's wrong!"

Junko fixed him with a sharp look.

"She said she was just passing by!" Makoto insisted. "She got there as soon as she could!"

"And you honestly believe that?" Junko spat. "C'mon Naegi-kun, think about it! She just happened to show up at the end of the battle when the Witch was already worn down? And she didn't show herself until after Maizono-san was dead? She was obviously lying in wait until she saw her chance to swoop in and claim the Grief Seed!"

Makoto didn't want to believe it. Mukuro seemed mysterious and oftentimes strange to him, but he couldn't see her as a truly bad person. Yet, he couldn't think of anything to say to refute what Junko was saying. He went over his previous interactions with Mukuro in his head, dissecting them for one shred of evidence that Mukuro wasn't the sort of person who would do that, and came up with nothing.

Even so, he couldn't let go of the voice in the back of his head telling him that Junko was wrong.

"And what about you?" Junko snapped suddenly, derailing his train of thought. "Why didn't you do anything!?"

Makoto and Chihiro stared at her in horror. Unable to formulate a response, Makoto was thankful when Chihiro argued, "Hold on, Enoshima-san! That isn't fair!" The Ultimate Programmer flinched when she rounded on him, but continued nonetheless. "I... I didn't even have time to react when the Witch attacked her... So, um... Th-there's no way you could expect Naegi-kun to have done anything!"

"Monokuma told me Naegi-kun had already made up his mind about becoming a Puer Magi by that point," Junko said, voice low. "If you hadn't waited... If you had gone ahead and made the contract... Then Maizono-san wouldn't have... She'd still be..."

"W-we don't know that for sure!" Chihiro insisted, but Makoto couldn't help feeling like she was right. Maybe if he had helped them fight... "M-maybe she would have d... died anyway. O-or, maybe Naegi-kun would have instead. We can't know what would have happened!"

Head snapping away from Junko, Makoto stared at Chihiro. "Fujisaki-kun..."

"Whatever," Junko growled. The corners of her eyes were wet. She swiped at them furiously. "You're going to go ahead and make a contract now, right?"

Chihiro stared at her in shock.

"Enoshima-san!"

"What?" she snapped. "He was going to anyway, and now we have one less person out there fighting the Witches!"

Makoto stared at her.

"I don't..." His voice sounded all rough and scratchy. He cleared his voice and started again. "Would I be able to wish Maizono-san back to life?"

(( _Normally if someone asked me that, I'd say tough beans._ ))

Makoto jumped at the sound of Monokuma's telepathic voice, but a moment later he realized he had no real reason to be surprised. Chihiro had been talking to him telepathically earlier, meaning Monokuma must have been somewhere nearby even then, acting as a transmitter.

(( _But in your case... Who knows?_ ))

For once Junko and Chihiro seemed just as confused as Makoto felt.

"What do you mean?" Chihiro asked. "Isn't bringing someone back from the dead impossible?"

Monokuma waddled over to them on his stubby little legs. He plopped down on the ground in front of the bench and helped himself to Makoto's spilled lunch.

(( _When you humans die, your souls disappear. Don't ask me what happens to 'em. Maybe they go somewhere, maybe they just go '_ poof _' and vanish. I can bring back a human's body, but putting their soul back is an entirely different matter._ ))

He said it so casually, through mouthfuls of food - well, he didn't need his mouth to talk - like he didn't care one way or another that Sayaka had died.

(( _But-_ ))

Makoto perked up as Monokuma continued speaking.

(( _-your magical potential is way, way,_ waaay _bigger than that of any Magi I've seen before. No matter how impossible your wish is, it would come true. Maybe. Possibly. I think._ ))

Finished with his stolen meal, Monokuma let out a satisfied sigh and a burp. Makoto ignored him as he thought about what he'd just learned.

"So what you're saying is there's no guarantee?"

(( _Nope. If the human soul really does go somewhere when they die, it should work. But if it's just destroyed you'll only have an empty shell that looks like Sayaka. I suppose if you_ really _wanted you could create a soul, or borrow one from someone else._ ))

And that was the problem. Makoto wasn't especially religious. He could believe in the existence of magic because he'd seen it himself, with his own two eyes, but the soul? He didn't know if he believed in that, let alone the concept of a god or Heaven.

Even if souls really were real, but didn't last after death, then what? He couldn't take a soul from somewhere else. He wanted to bring back Maizono Sayaka, not a zombie that looked like her. Makoto shook his head. Junko scowled at him.

"What? So you're not even going to try?"

"I can't. Not unless I knew for sure that it would work."

Because the possibility of bringing a false Sayaka back in place of the real one was just too cruel. Even if it did work, then what? She would go right back to hunting Witches again, just like before. How long would it be before she was killed again?

And, a small, selfish voice in the back of his mind supplied, after witnessing her death, he didn't know if he could become a Puer Magi. He didn't want to die. He didn't want to watch anyone else die again either. He was scared.

As though reading his thoughts, Junko spat out, "You fucking coward."

Chihiro let out a horrified gasp.

"Enoshima-san!"

"What!?" she snarled, shooting him a vicious glare that had him cowering before turning back to Makoto. "You were all ready to become a Puer Magi before Maizono-san died. We told you over and over again that dying was a possibility and you didn't mind it then! Now you realize we weren't kidding and wanna back out? You're a coward, Naegi Makoto!"

Even Monokuma seemed taken aback by Junko's outburst. For a moment she just stood there, glaring at Makoto with tears running down her cheeks. Then she turned on her heel and stomped off. She slammed the door behind her as hard as she could, leaving Makoto, Chihiro, and Monokuma staring after her in stunned silence. A few moments passed before Monokuma started moving.

(( _I'll just, um... Bye!_ ))

And with that he waddled off after her. Makoto wasn't sure how exactly, but he managed to work open the door to chase after Junko.

"Naegi-kun..." Chihiro breathed as his voice returned to him. "You- Don't listen to her. Sh-she's just upset..."

"I know." Makoto's chest hurt. It was difficult not to take Junko's words to heart, because he'd already been thinking something similar, but he knew she didn't really mean it. Slowly, he pulled himself to his feet. "We should get back to class."

* * *

Junko refused to speak to Makoto for the rest of the day. Although all three of them tried to act like nothing was out of the ordinary, it was obvious to Makoto that Sayaka's death had affected her. Usually Junko was a bit of a class clown, interrupting lessons and lectures with playful jabs or inappropriate jokes, but today she was a model student, giving the teachers her full attention and taking notes religiously. No one else seemed to notice the change.

She was the first one out of the room when the final bell rang, leaving Chihiro and Makoto behind without sparing either of them a glance. Chihiro drifted off with his own group of friends, who had seen him leaving the school with Sayaka and Makoto the previous day and wanted to know the details. Chihiro flashed Makoto an apologetic smile before leaving him alone.

Makoto found he didn't mind. He needed some space from everything involving Magi at the moment. As he was leaving the school he found himself stopping by the fountain where he had waited for Junko the first day. It was exactly as he remembered it. Even that girl playing the handheld was still there. He found himself wondering, if he hadn't heard Monokuma's voice that day, would Sayaka be alive now? Or would she simply have stopped showing up to class one day, with no explanation?

"Naegi Makoto."

Jumping at the sound of his name, Makoto turned to find himself faced with Ikusaba Mukuro.

"Mukuro-san..."

Something about her seemed different day. She was less... intense than normal. Or maybe Makoto was just getting used to her powerful aura.

Oblivious to Makoto's thoughts about her, Mukuro asked, "Would you be willing to accompany me somewhere?"

Without thinking, Makoto accepted.

* * *

Of all things, Makoto wasn't expecting her to bring him to a cafe. It was a really nice one, only about a block away from the school. The prices left him pale, and even when Mukuro offered to pay for him he could only bring himself to order the least expensive thing on the menu.

"Mukuro-san, why did you invite me here?" he asked after they'd ordered their drinks and sat down. As usual, Makoto couldn't make heads or tails of Mukuro's expression.

"I wanted to assure you that what happened to Maizono wasn't your fault."

That wasn't the answer Makoto had been expecting. He stared at her, searching for some indication she was messing with him. But then, Mukuro hardly seemed like the type to randomly make jokes, let alone about something like this.

"There was absolutely nothing you could have done to save her," Mukuro continued. "I _am_ sorry that I didn't get there sooner, but in a way, I am also thankful. Her death served to teach you a lesson, albeit a painful one, after all."

Makoto stared at her in disbelief. "What?"

"It's because you witnessed her death that you finally started taking my warning seriously," she clarified. "To that end, I'm thankful for Maizono Sayaka's sacrifice."

"How..." Makoto's voice wavered. "How can you say things like that?"

Mukuro sighed.

"Please remember," she said as she stirred her tea, "I am the Ultimate Soldier. I've been in countless combat situations even before I became a Puella Magi, and I've seen countless people die. If I broke down over every single person I knew who died, I would no longer be able to function."

Although she made a good point, Makoto couldn't help feeling sad at her words.

"But she wasn't a soldier like you," Makoto argued. "All she wanted was to protect people from the Witches. She didn't deserve to die like that."

So far Makoto hadn't even had a sip of his tea. He held the cup between his hands, letting the warmth seep into his fingers, while he stared at the golden liquid. Mukuro didn't interrupt him as he spoke, but with each word her frown grew a little deeper.

"That's not true."

Makoto looked up at Mukuro's soft statement.

"Maizono-san didn't become a Puella Magi in order to fight Witches. She did it for the same reason every other Magi made a contract with Monokuma; for the sake of her wish. She made that contract knowing very well she could one day die for it, and was still willing to put her life on the line. She was every bit the soldier that I am."

"Mukuro-san..." Come to think of it, Chihiro had said something similar, hadn't he? That he'd made his contract for the wish, and not strictly speaking to fight the Witches and stop them from spreading despair. "What... I mean, if you don't mind me asking, what did you wish for when you made your contract?"

Mukuro's eyes narrowed the slightest bit and Makoto barely managed to keep himself from flinching.

"Sorry, I shouldn't have asked."

"It's alright," she assured him. "I can understand your curiosity. However, I would prefer to keep my wish private."

Unable to think of anything else to say, Makoto lifted his teacup. Mukuro reached across the table and placed her hand over his cup before it could reach his lips. He shot her a questioning look.

"You only ordered it because it's inexpensive, right? Switch with me. My drink is sweeter. You'll like it better."

Mukuro ignored Makoto's protests as she swapped around their drinks on the table. He only gave up when she raised his still steaming cup to her lips and took a large sip. Realizing he had lost, he took the cup she'd given him and tried a small sip. She'd been right; it was sweet, but a light, airy sort of sweet. Makoto thought he tasted a lingering trace of apple in it.

He must have looked pleased because Mukuro suddenly said, "I thought you'd prefer the chamomile." She seemed pleased as well. "As for me, I prefer my tea a little less sweet."

"How did you know what kind of tea I like?" Makoto asked. He wasn't a regular tea drinker so he didn't even know which kinds he preferred.

"It was just an impression I had of you," she replied before taking another sip. Makoto wondered if he was really that easy to read.

As though in response to his thoughts - and a part of Makoto was expecting, or maybe hoping, to hear a playful 'I'm psychic' - Mukuro said, "You wear your heart on your sleeve. It's an endearing trait, but a weakness in a Magi. It's better that you decided not to make a contract."

"But I..." Mukuro's expression hardened and Makoto almost didn't finish his thought. "Maybe if I made a contract earlier and fought with her, Maizono-san wouldn't have-"

"Hindsight is twenty-twenty," Mukuro interrupted. "You have no way of knowing what would have happened. Maybe Maizono would have died protecting you instead of Chihiro. Or maybe she would have survived the battle and you would have died instead. There are limitless 'maybe's. Dwelling on them accomplishes nothing."

Slowly, Makoto nodded in understanding. "I just wish I could have done something."

Mukuro stiffened, maybe at his choice of words.

"There's nothing you could have done, and no reason for you to continue torturing yourself thinking about it." She took another long sip of her tea before continuing. "Maizono's fate was inevitable, as is every Magi's. There's nothing for you to do now, except move on."

"Move on?" Makoto echoed. Mukuro nodded. "No, I..."

Mukuro raised an eyebrow, waiting for him to continue.

"I could never do that. I'm going to carry her with me the rest of my life. I'll carry her memory with me wherever I go!"

With a sigh, Mukuro said, "You came to care for Maizono very deeply in a short amount of time, didn't you?" She ran her finger around the rim of her teacup. "I must admit, I'm a little jealous."

Makoto blinked. Mukuro was jealous? Of Sayaka?

"I won't forget you either!" he said without thinking. "I'll always remember how you saved me and Fujisaki-kun. I promise!"

"You are too kind." Mukuro drained the last of her tea. Then she pulled out her wallet, and set some money on the table. Enough for both of their drinks. "Please excuse me. I have somewhere to be."

And with that said she left, leaving Makoto alone once again to ponder her strange behavior and cryptic words.

* * *

The weekend couldn't have come soon enough. A sentiment most highschoolers shared, though in Makoto's case it had less to do with an aversion to schoolwork and more to do with the still fresh memories of Sayaka's death. Fortunately Komaru had gone out with her friends and his parents were having a day out, so Makoto got the house to himself. He tried not to let himself mope around too much. He got out of bed, got dressed, walked around the house, did his chores, and worked on his homework, or rather, attempted to.

But by the time he had finished it was only noon and he was feeling listless again. None of his video games appealed to him at the moment, and even when he turned on the television set he couldn't focus on anything that was happening. As he sat on his bed staring at the screen but not really watching it, he found himself thumbing through his notebook and looking at all of the doodles he'd put in it. Pictures of Sayaka and Junko and Soul Gems. His crappy sketch of Sayaka in her Puella Magi outfit sent fresh waves of pain through his chest, but he couldn't stop looking.

(( _Naegi-kun, I'm sorry._ ))

Makoto flinched as Chihiro's voice suddenly echoed through his head.

(( _I forgot we invited you to hang out with us today, but I didn't have your phone number to call and warn you. We're almost at your house now, but I can try to get the others to leave you alone if you want._ ))

Oh, right, the guys in class had invited him to spend the day with them, hadn't they? In truth, Makoto was a bit grateful for the distraction. He wasn't doing himself any favors with this notebook.

(( _No, it's okay,_ )) he replied. (( _I'll be there in a moment._ ))

Slamming the notebook shut, Makoto shut off his television and leaped out of bed. He ran to the front door and shoved his feet into his shoes before throwing the door open. Yasuhiro was standing on his front step, hand poised to knock.

"Whoa! Good timing!" the Ultimate Clairvoyant said. "How'd you know we were here already?"

"I'm psychic," Makoto joked. Instantly Hiro's face screwed up in rage.

"Don't try to fool me with that pseudo-scientific bull crap!" he roared suddenly, wiping the half-formed smile from Makoto's face. "I'm not some sucker you can take for a ride with your occu- mmf!"

Hiro was thankfully cut off when Mondo stepped up behind him and clamped a hand over his mouth.

"Man, lay off," the Ultimate Biker Gang Leader growled. "He was just jokin.'"

"Sorry about that," Chihiro said, laughing sheepishly. "Hagakure-kun has this weird... ' _thing_ ' about the occult."

Hiro made several muffled sounds behind Mono's hand that Makoto could vaguely recognize as, "It's not a ' _thing_!'"

"So where are we going?" Makoto asked.

"Just downtown," Chihiro said. "There's this arcade I really like that I'd like to bring everyone to. If I can even get Oowada-kun to step in. And Kuwata-kun might be joining us later."

"He was supposed to meet us at the station, but he texted and said he got held up or somethin,'" Mondo growled. "Well, whatever. Let's get going."

* * *

Makoto didn't think he was a particularly unlikable guy, but even so he'd never had an especially large group of friends. It was kind of nice getting to spend the day with some of his new classmates. Even so, he was glad for Chihiro's calming presence. He was pretty sure he was going to be completely mentally drained after spending the day with Hiro and Mondo.

They wasted hours at the arcade. Chihiro flitted from one machine to the next talking excitedly about their mechanics, programming, technical aspects... Makoto struggled to follow along, but Chihiro looked like he was having fun, so he didn't mind. Mondo found a strength game that involved squeezing a lever and got the high score. Hiro was more interested in games like ski ball and air hockey where he could play against other people.

Makoto, for the most part, stuck with the chance games, figuring that even if he didn't have much skill he would at least walk away with _something_. At the first machine he was supposed to press a button that would drop a rubber ball into a chamber. The ball would bounce around the inside until it eventually landed in a goal with a number marker. Makoto, Chihiro, Mondo, and Hiro watched the ball bounce around with intense eyes. It circled around the outer ring, grazing the edges of the goal posts but not quite falling in. Once, twice it made a full loop, and then...

 **JACKPOT!**

Colorful lights flashed as the ball fell into the five-hundred point jackpot. Chihiro and Makoto stared in amazement while behind them Mondo and Hiro whooped and cheered.

"Makoto, if you get the jackpot you get to go again," Chihiro prompted when Makoto didn't respond after several moments. Still reeling from shock, Makoto pressed the button again.

This time the ball made it around three times before landing in the second highest two-hundred and fifty hole. Makoto walked away from his first game with over seven hundred points on his card and several bruises on his back where Mondo and Hiro had slapped him in congratulations.

From there the other boys wanted to test out Makoto's 'luck' and ended up dragging him from one chance game to the next. Though he never won quite as big as he had on the first game, he still managed to accumulate a huge number of points in a short amount of time. He did so well that Hiro, after saying something about Makoto's luck rubbing off on him, decided to try out the same machines Makoto had tried. On his first attempt he won a measly ten points.

"Now I see why you're the Ultimate Lucky Student!" Chihiro said teasingly after Makoto won three hundred points on the next machine. Makoto laughed nervously.

"That's not... My luck really isn't out of the ordinary." Usually. Somehow Makoto got the feeling he was being set up for disappointment later.

"Coulda fooled me," Mondo commented. "You come to places like this a lot? You prolly figured out a trick to these machines, right?"

"No, not really," Makoto replied. "I mean, I used to go to an arcade a lot when I was little, but my parents stopped bringing me there."

"How come?"

"Because I kept bringing home too many toys from the prize exchange. They said my room was getting too cluttered and messy and..." A slight pause. "I didn't really make my case, did I?"

"Not at all."

Mondo, as it turned out, was actually a fairly nice guy, despite how he appeared on the surface. He yelled and cussed a lot, but as Makoto learned when they walked down the street and encountered a stray begging for scraps, he absolutely adored dogs. He also seemed to get nervous easily. Especially around girls. Which, in part, was his motive for inviting Makoto along in the first place.

"So dude, spill," Mondo said as they all gathered around a heaping plate of nachos they'd gotten from a snack stand right outside the arcade, "how'd you get in with Maizono and Enoshima?"

Makoto was proud of himself for not tensing at the sound of Sayaka's name.

"I'm not... It's really not what you think... I just kind of ran into Enoshima-san the week before school started. I kind of accidentally stopped some guy from stealing her bag and I guess that left an impression?"

"How do you 'accidentally' catch a thief?" Hiro asked through a mouthful of nachos.

"...I ran into him while I was chasing my shoe."

"Why were you chasing your shoe?"

"It flew off my foot while I was walking and someone kicked it by accident."

All three of Makoto's classmates were staring at him in sheer disbelief, including Chihiro.

"So, you met Enoshima by sheer luck?" Mondo asked. "Man, you really are the Ultimate Lucky Student!"

After the events of last week, Makoto was seriously starting to doubt that.

"And what about Maizono-chi?" Hiro chimed in, because fate dictated he couldn't make it through one conversation without her name somehow coming up. "How'd you snag a hottie like the Ultimate Pop Sensation?"

"I didn't _snag_ her!" Makoto protested, almost indignantly. "We used to go to the same middle school, and she recognized me from there, so I guess she thought it would be a good idea for us to be... friends..."

"Aw, geez," Mondo said, giving Makoto another bruising slap on the back. "That sucks man. Sorry 'bout that."

Makoto couldn't even be annoyed with him for misinterpreting the source of Makoto's sadness. It wasn't like he could explain to them that he'd watched Sayaka...

(( _Do you need some space, Naegi-kun?_ ))

Once again, Makoto was thankful for Chihiro's presence.

(( _No, I'm fine. I promise._ ))

At least, he was trying to be. He didn't want his grief to keep him from ever living a normal life. Yet, now that he was here, having fun with his friends, he was beginning to feel... guilty. Sayaka had only been dead for a few days and he was playing games and eating nachos and laughing like nothing was wrong. Mukuro had said he shouldn't torture himself, but with the absence of anyone else to do so, shouldn't he at least mourn for Sayaka a little while longer?

"'Scuse me," he said, sliding out of their booth. "I'll be right back. Gotta use the bathroom."

Without waiting for a response Makoto walked back into the arcade to get to the bathroom at the very back. It was empty, so he didn't have to worry about getting any strange looks as he cupped his hands under the running faucet and then splashed cold water in his face. The shock seemed to clear his thoughts at least a little. He groped blindly for a paper towel, wiped his face dry, and then took a look at himself in the mirror. He didn't look too bad, considering the past few restless nights. It wasn't like he was developing dark circles or anything. As he balled up his paper towel and tossed it into the nearby wastebasket, Makoto flashed a practice smile in the mirror. It looked hollow, not quite reaching his eyes. Internally, Makoto grimaced. Was that the face he'd been making all day?

He hoped not. Then Mondo and Hiro probably wouldn't invite him to spend time with them again. Taking a deep breath - and trying not to retch at the smell of stale vomit that flooded his nostrils - Makoto braced himself to return to the group.

And then, a grand total of two seconds after opening the door, he walked face-first into somebody.

"Oof!"

"Ow!"

Both Makoto and the unfortunate person he'd walked into went down. Makoto nursed the stinging pain in his backside through his jeans for a moment before registering that he had walked into another human being, and the moment he did his cheeks lit up in embarrassment.

"I'm so sor-"

He cut himself off. The other person had already pulled themself up, and was offering Makoto a hand. It was a teenage boy, taller than Makoto - but then, most were - but even so it was easy to see how Makoto had taken him down with him. The stranger was very slight, with a wild mess of white hair that made him stand out even in a crowd. It was a wonder Makoto hadn't noticed him before slamming into him.

"It's alright," the strange, white-haired boy said. "I'm the one who should be apologizing."

"N-no," Makoto replied, taking the offered hand. "I wasn't paying attention. Sorry."

He didn't know why, but he was getting an unusual feeling. Like he'd done this before. Déjà vu maybe?

But no, someone who looked like this guy... Makoto would have remembered if they'd met before. Right?

"Ah, excuse me," Makoto said, stepping to the side so he was no longer blocking the white-haired boy's way. "Sorry again."

With that Makoto scurried off, eager to rejoin his friends. He didn't notice the white-haired boy staring after him for several moments, or bend to pick something up off the ground.

* * *

Only Mondo was left sitting at the table when Makoto returned. When asked he explained that Makoto was taking so long that the other two went looking for him. Well, Chihiro did. Hiro just went to get some more soda. Makoto realized he must have just passed them inside the arcade.

(( _Sorry I took so long, I just came back outside,_ )) Makoto thought to Chihiro, or tried to. Several seconds ticked by with no response. At the lack of response Makoto tried again, (( _Fujisaki-kun?_ ))

Still nothing. Up to this point he'd assumed Monokuma was somewhere nearby, acting as a transmitter, but then he realized that he hadn't actually _seen_ the bear once that day. Maybe Monokuma wasn't as close as he'd thought after all. Maybe he was only just within range for telepathy, and he had finally moved out of range at some point while Makoto was in the arcade?

That was preferable to any other explanation Makoto could think of.

"Yo, Naegi, you okay?" Mondo's gruff voice drew him back to reality. "You're kinda spacing out again."

"Sorry, just thinking," Makoto said before pulling his soda closer to him and guiding the straw to his lips.

"'Bout what?"

"Bears..." Makoto mumbled without thinking. Mondo gave him a strange look, but at this point Makoto wasn't paying attention anymore. His attention was on a random person who had just walked out of the arcade and passed behind Mondo. A person who had a strange black marking stamped onto his neck.

A Witch's Kiss.

Makoto felt his blood run cold.

"I have to... go."

"Wha- _Hey!_ "

Mondo shouted after him as Makoto stood abruptly and started chasing after the person with the Witch's Kiss. Hopefully he would tell Chihiro which direction Makoto had run off in when Chihiro eventually came back. Since he couldn't reach the Puer Magi via telepathy at the moment, and still hadn't gotten his contact number, Makoto figured this was the best he could hope to do at the moment. He couldn't let that guy go off on his own while he was in that state. What if he hurt himself or someone else before Chihiro showed up?

Makoto supposed it was possible that Chihiro had already picked up the Witch's trail and was following it already, but Mondo had said that Chihiro went into the arcade and this guy was walking away from it. Besides, wouldn't Chihiro had said something if he noticed a Witch nearby earlier? Makoto hoped he would have. He didn't want to be treated like he was fragile.

For a long while the marked guy just walked down the street normally. At a certain point a second person joined him, and then a third. They had markings just like the first man's. None of them ever noticed Makoto following behind them.

They weren't all going to start a riot or commit group suicide or something, were they? Makoto had no idea how he was going to stop them if they were. Now he was regretting not leaving behind a note or something for Chihiro, or better yet, getting his phone number that morning when they met up. Maybe he should try calling Junko...

Oh, but... She was mad at him, wasn't she? Makoto shook his head as though to physically dispel that thought. No matter how upset Junko might have been with him, she would never leave an innocent person to die.

Careful not to let the people he was following out of his sight, Makoto took out his phone, quickly typed out a quick message to Junko, and hit 'send.' It probably had lots of typos, but it was legible enough; the word 'witch' along with the street he was currently on. Even if it only got her within the general vicinity, she could track the Witch with her Soul Gem. Probably.

The people with the Kisses continued walking down the street for several more minutes - during which two more people joined the group - before turning abruptly down an alley. Makoto hesitated just outside it before following them in. They hadn't noticed him yet, so he should be safe enough...

Wait, where were they?

Makoto had turned the corner around the building into the alley to find it completely empty. There wasn't even any sign of a barrier they could have disappeared into. So where...?

"Whoa, hey! You lost kid?"

With a jolt, Makoto spun around, finding two of the men from before blocking his entrance to the alley. Both were wearing identical malicious smirks and there was an unusual foggy haze over their eyes.

"I- I just..." Makoto took a fearful step back, only to collide with a third body. Before he had time to react or pull away a large hand clamped over his mouth while the second wrapped around his shoulders, keeping him where he was.

"Hey, this kid's pretty cute, isn't he?" the guy behind him said. The other two grinned.

"Yeah, totally adorbs!"

'Adorbs?' That didn't sound like a word grown men would use. It must have been the Witch controlling them. Makoto kicked and struggled in the man's hold, but all in vain. The man's grip just tightened.

"Hey, relax, kid," a husky voice whispered in his ear. "I promise, we'll be nice and gentle..."

Something about the way they said that word sent a chill down his spine. Then he felt something wet and slimy on his ear - a tongue - and those warning bells going off in the back of his mind turned into full blown sirens and he struggled with renewed vigor.

"Aw, you scared him!" a fourth voice chimed in. Makoto trembled as the other men closed in around him. One reached forward, taking the zipper of his hoodie in hand, and then-

"YOU FUCKHEADS GET AWAY FROM HIM!"

Suddenly the man directly in front of Makoto was ripped away and he felt the hold on him slacken. Makoto took the opportunity to clamp his teeth down on the hand covering his mouth. The man holding him shouted in pain or surprise and his hold slackened enough for Makoto to wrench free.

"You little bast-"

He never got to finish. He was taken down by a trash can thrown at full force by Mondo.

Mondo was a terror in that moment. Blood was trickling down in his face and covering his knuckles as he threw himself at the men who'd attacked Makoto. One attempted to stop him by leaping onto his back but Mondo responded by lurching backwards and slamming his back against the side of the building behind him. Makoto heard a sharp _crack_ and when Mondo pulled away the man slumped to the ground, unconscious.

By now Makoto's attackers were beginning to realize they were hopelessly outmatched, despite their advantage in numbers. Already Mondo had put two of them on the ground, and while the other three were panting heavily, Mondo looked more than ready to keep going. Makoto stared at the Ultimate Biker Gang Leader in awe.

Suddenly two of the men spun on their heels and fled. The third stared after them for a moment before cursing and following their example. As soon as they were out of sight Makoto let out a sigh of relief. It was at that moment that Mondo rounded on him, looking no less furious than he had been a moment ago.

"What the actual _fuck_ Naegi!?" he growled, advancing on the smaller boy. "Do you have a death wish or something!? Is following weirdos into alleys something you do for fun!?"

"Ah, no, I just..." Makoto fumbled for an explanation that would satisfy Mondo without being an outright lie.

"You dumbass. You're real fuckin' lucky I decided to follow you. I thought you were acting weird, but..." Suddenly a look of horror flashed across his face. "Wait, you're not in some, I dunno, financial shit or something, are you? Was this, like, compensated...?"

Makoto balked at the implication.

"No! It wasn't anything like that!" Seeing no choice, Makoto said, "I saw the first guy and I thought... he was going to hurt someone..."

He had no idea how he was supposed to explain _why_ exactly he thought that. He was pretty sure that, like Monokuma and barriers and Witches themselves, Witches' Kisses were invisible to normal humans.

"Yeah. He nearly did. _You._ "

Makoto flinched at Mondo's harsh tone.

"I guess that was pretty stupid, huh?"

"No fuckin' shit." Mondo sighed. "Well, whatever. Those sick fucks are outta commission. Let's head back."

"Ah, okay."

Mondo had taken all of two steps before he stopped suddenly. Makoto had his mouth open to ask what was wrong when Mondo whirled around, stomped up to one of the men he'd beaten unconscious, and gave him a vicious kick. Makoto was too stunned to protest, even when Mondo grabbed his hand in a vice grip and proceeded to drag him away.

The street was strangely empty as they walked back. Which, Makoto supposed, suited him just fine. He was pretty sure if anyone had seen Mondo in the state he was in, still seething in rage and dragging the much smaller Makoto behind him, they would have said something.

...Okay, no, they probably wouldn't have. But it wasn't at all unlikely that Mondo would have gotten the police called on him.

Still, it was strange that there didn't seem to be anybody around. The only indications of life other than himself and Mondo that Makoto could see were the vaguely defined shapes through the store windows.

Something fluttered from the sky and landed on Makoto's hoodie. He plucked it between his thumb and forefinger and held it up to inspect it. A flower petal, pretty and pink. Not so unusual on its own, but where had it come from? There weren't any flower trees on this street.

"Hey, Naegi," Mondo said as he slowed to a stop. "Somethin' about this place seem weird to you?"

A sudden, horrible realization dawned on Makoto. He looked up to find the sky had completely transformed. While the street and the buildings were all grey scale, the white sky was dotted with pastel pink polka dots.

"We're in a labyrinth."

Mondo spun on his heel to face Makoto.

"We're in a _what?_ The fuck's goin' on!?"

Before Makoto got a chance to answer something whizzed by his head. It was moving too fast for him to see clearly, but he thought he caught a flash of teeth and he definitely heard a distinctive _clack clack clack_ from it. The thing kept going until it crashed into a nearby building where it proceeded to eat its way through the concrete and steel. The blood drained from Makoto's face as he realized how close it had come to hitting him.

"Move!" Mondo roared, grabbing hold of Makoto once again and booking it. Even he knew he couldn't fight something like that.

As they ran they were pursued by more flying, disembodied mouths. Makoto grew nervous each time he heard that _clack clack clack_ ing grow nearer but Mondo seemed to have a sense for the projectiles and always managed to pull Makoto out of the way just in time.

"What the fuck what the fuck what the actual f _lying fuck!?_ "

Makoto couldn't really blame Mondo for his reaction. He wasn't faring much better, and he knew what labyrinths were!

The farther they ran the more the scenery transformed. Grey and white gave way to various shades of pink. Ribbons wound their way up lamp posts and crisscrossed over the roof tops. Buildings that were once made from concrete became soft and pink and plush and the indistinct shapes behind the windows became clearly visible stuffed animals with wicked, sharp teeth and blood spatters on their paws and around their mouths. As Makoto and Mondo fled from the flying teeth the stuffed animals jeered and threw unpeeled chestnuts at them.

Mondo ducked into a space between two plush buildings, yanking Makoto with them. The flying teeth sped past the alley, but were only fooled a moment before they turned around and resumed the chase. By then their prey had nearly made it to the opposite end of they alley.

"Oowada-kun!" Makoto shouted, jabbing his finger at one of the buildings on the street they now found themselves on. Mondo followed Makoto's finger with his eyes and instantly changed direction towards the open door Makoto was indicating. As soon as they crossed the threshold Mondo let go of Makoto's hand and slammed the door shut as hard as he could, throwing his full weight against it. It was too late that Makoto realized how futile the action was; those things could eat through solid concrete, so there was no way this fabric and cotton building would-

 _Thunk! Thunk! Thunk!_

Outside the flying teeth slammed into the cushioned wall, but were unable to break through. Through the small window, Makoto stared at them in disbelief.

They were safe. At least, for the moment. Now they had a chance to catch their breath and Makoto had a chance to nurse his now throbbing shoulder. Not that he wasn't thankful to Mondo for saving him, but he was going to be feeling that for a while. Assuming, of course, that he made it out of this alive.

"What the actual-" Mondo's voice came out as a harsh whisper. He slid down the door, massive beads of sweat rolling down his face. "- _fuck!_ "

"Oowada-kun, are you okay?" A stupid question, Makoto knew, but he couldn't think of anything else to say.

" _Of course I'm not fucking okay!_ " Mondo roared. "I mean... Jesus fucking Christ! What were those things!? Where the hell are we!?"

"Those were familiars," Makoto answered, averting his eyes nervously at Mondo's incredulous look. "We're, um... We're inside a Witch's labyrinth."

"Witch? Familiars? _The fuck?_ "

Makoto checked the window. The familiars had stopped throwing themselves against the building, but they were still lingering out there, waiting for Mondo or Makoto to be stupid enough to emerge. They seemed to grow restless as he stepped within view, so he backed away from the window. Just in case.

"I think we're probably safe. Good thing they don't have hands..." Though, who knew? Maybe they'd figure out how to open the door by biting the doorknob and turning their bodies.

Trying not to let his fear overtake him, Makoto studied his surroundings. Although the building had looked small from the outside, it was much bigger on the inside. The inside resembled a dentist's office, without the lobby or receptionist's desk. There was a chair in the very center in the room large enough to hold a prone person with a huge lamp on a crane poised over it and a tray of tools nearby. The walls were covered in posters of the inside of the human mouth with cheesy phrases encouraging good oral hygiene or cartoon characters with reminders to floss. It was strange, but comparatively the most normal thing they'd encountered since entering the labyrinth.

"Naegi." Makoto spun around at the sound of his name. Mondo was staring at him with barely concealed panic. "What the hell is going on?"

* * *

It took a while to explain everything to Mondo. Makoto tried to keep it simple, giving him the same basic description Junko had given him on that first day before describing how he had inadvertently wandered into a labyrinth and been saved by her. Mondo was understandably shocked to learn that Junko was a Puella Magi. As well as Sayaka. And Chihiro.

"Fujisaki is!?"

Makoto nodded.

"I think a few other people in our class might be too, but I don't know who they are."

"...Shit man." Mondo looked Makoto up and down. "So are you one too? One of those... Pure Magic things?"

"Puer Magi," Makoto corrected. "And no. I almost made a contract, but..."

 _Blood ran down the grooves of the Witch's drill as it slid it out of Sayaka's corpse, dripping on her white top which had reappeared in a flash of blue light the moment she died._

"That sucks," Mondo said, not noticing the look that had crossed Makoto's face. "We could really use one right now."

Snapping out of his thoughts, Makoto said, "I think we'll be fine if we just stay put. Fujisaki-kun will probably notice the Witch's trail and come looking for us sooner or later. A-and I texted Enoshima-san a little while ago, so even if he doesn't come, she will."

"You did?" No doubt Mondo was wondering when and how Makoto had gotten the Ultimate Fashionista's phone number. "She say anything back?"

That was a good question. Makoto pulled his phone out of his pocket to check.

"No signal," he replied with a disappointed sigh. Mondo swore.

"I hate this," he growled. "I hate being stuck like this. We should be out there fighting, not hiding in here like a couple of cowards!"

"But normal humans can't stand up to those things!" Makoto protested. "I know you're scared, but please-"

Makoto knew he'd made a mistake the moment the word had left his lips.

"I ain't scared!" Mondo roared. "I'm fucking pissed! Who the hell does this Witch-bitch think she is!? I'm gonna find her and pummel her to dust and make her let us out!"

With that Mondo turned around and grabbed the doorknob, prepared to throw it open and face the familiars lurking outside. Reacting without thinking, Makoto ran forward and grabbed his arm. He knew he wasn't anywhere near strong enough to stop Mondo, but the stronger boy hesitated anyway.

"What're you doing? Let go!"

"Mondo, you can't do this!"

"Get offa me!"

"No!"

"Why are you being such a pain in the ass!?"

" _Because I don't want to watch another one of my friends die!_ "

A painful silence fell between them. Mondo's hand was still gripping the doorknob, but he was frozen, staring down at the smaller boy who was still holding his arm for dear life. Makoto's eyes were squeezed shut and his body was trembling faintly. With a resigned sigh, Mondo let go of the doorknob, shoulders slumping.

"Aright. _Aright_. I won't go out there. You can chill."

Makoto didn't let go for several more seconds, still afraid Mondo might try to leave again. When Mondo didn't move, however, he gradually loosened his grip and released his hold. His body was still shaking though.

"...Was it Maizono?"

Makoto blinked. "How did...?"

"Well, she stopped showing up to class about halfway through the week, and you got all weird when we were talkin' about her earlier, so I figured..." Mondo shrugged. "Just made sense." A slight pause. "Shit man, I'm sorry."

Shaking his head, Makoto replied, "No, I'm sorry. For running off. And getting you stuck in this place."

Mondo scoffed. "You weren't thinkin' you were gonna take out the Witch by yourself, were you?"

"Of course not! I just... Those guys from earlier had these markings on them - Witches' Kisses - and I thought I should see where they were going so I could tell Fujisaki-kun."

Raising an eyebrow, Mondo asked, "Witches' what now?"

"Kisses. They're, um..." Makoto trailed off, trying to think of the best way to word his explanation. "Witches can leave these marks on people's bodies, and when they do they can make people do horrible things they normally wouldn't do. That's why those guys attacked me earlier. They were being controlled."

"Oh." Mondo thought back to the incident that lead up to them getting lost in the labyrinth. "Well, I still don't regret beating the shit out of them."

In truth, Makoto felt bad for them since he knew their actions weren't their own fault, but even so he was thankful Mondo had shown up when he did. If Mondo had shown up a little later, or decided not to show up at all... Makoto didn't want to think about it, so he put it out of his mind.

* * *

Time crawled by at a snail's pace, and still no one had shown up to save them. More and more familiars had appeared and clustered around Mondo and Makoto's hiding space. By now they could barely see anything through the cloud of flying, chattering teeth at the window and several walking stuffed animals had formed a mob and were throwing more chestnuts at the building. Fortunately the glass seemed to be able to stand up to the abuse and they made no move to actually try to get in, but Makoto doubted it would last forever.

Mondo grew more agitated by the second. For a while Makoto occupied himself by simply watching Mondo pace around the room, though eventually Mondo grew tired of that as well. In his pacing Mondo discovered another door against the far wall, but after a short discussion both boys decided it was too risky. It could lead to another room full of familiars, or worse, the lair of the Witch itself. Mondo insisted he wasn't scared of a fight, but he wasn't going to force Makoto to run into danger. Makoto found himself wondering how much time had passed since they'd been trapped.

Someone was going to come soon... Right?

Instead of an answer, the sound of Makoto's stomach rumbling loudly reached his ears. Mondo's head whipped towards him and Makoto felt his face heat up.

"Damn Naegi, that your stomach?"

"Sorry..." Makoto mumbled, avoiding eye contact. It was probably close to dinner time by then.

A rustling sound reached his ears and when Makoto looked up he saw Mondo digging into his coat pocket. Before he could ask Mondo withdrew a candy bar which he tossed to him. Makoto fumbled and barely caught it. Dumbly, he stared at the candy bar in his hands before fixing Mondo with a questioning look.

"Go ahead," Mondo said with a shrug. "I'm good. I had a big breakfast."

Mondo really was a nice guy after all. A small smile tugged at Makoto's lips.

"Thank you, Oowada-kun."

Sniffing, Mondo averted his gaze. "Y-yeah, whatever. Just hurry up and eat. You're gonna need your strength."

Makoto tore open the wrapper before digging into the treat.

"Listen, Naegi..." Mondo's eyes were fixed against the far wall. "I don't think anyone's coming."

As much as he wanted to argue, Makoto knew Mondo was probably right. If Chihiro or Junko were coming, they would have been there by now. Maybe something had held them up, or maybe they'd just never found the labyrinth. Makoto hoped it was one of those two.

"We're gonna hafta make a run for it."

Makoto paused mid-chew. Then he swallowed thickly.

"I... Yeah, I think you're right." He shoved the last of the candy bar in his mouth, chewed quickly, and swallowed. He crumpled up the wrapper and shoved it into his pocket. "If we're careful, maybe we can sneak by without getting caught by any more familiars."

With a scoff, Mondo said, "I don't like sneakin' around. But... Just this once I'll try it your way." Surveying the room once more, he added, "Let's look around and see if there's anything in here we can use as weapons first."

That was actually a pretty good idea, and Makoto nodded along eagerly. Except for the fact that it looked like everything had been drawn on pink construction paper, that place resembled a normal dentist's office and had all of the same tools and equipment. Makoto wasn't sure he could do much against the flying teeth, but maybe he could use one of the tooth scrapers to stab those stuffed animals if they tried to attack him. He knew it sounded silly, but it was still better than nothing. If nothing else, it would make him feel a little safer.

Of course, as Makoto's luck would dictate, the moment he opened the first drawer something flew out to attack him.

A scream erupted from Makoto's throat as he lurched back and tripped over his own feet. The clattering, chattering teeth-familiar that had nearly bitten his face off circled overhead several times before launching itself at Mondo.

"Fucking-!"

Mondo's shout gave way to a pained noise as the teeth dug into his shoulder. Makoto watched, horrified, as blood spurted from the wound. With an angry roar Mondo ripped the familiar from his shoulder and flung it as hard as he could across the room. And he could fling it pretty hard.

"You goddamn son of a bitch!" he snarled. The familiar struck the far wall with a squeak before slumping to the ground. It lay there, completely limp, while Mondo nursed his injured shoulder.

"Oowada-kun!" Makoto called as he pulled himself to his feet and started to run to his friend, but it was at that moment that he was suddenly grabbed from behind.

For the second time that day. Go figure.

Makoto slammed into the dentist's chair with an 'oof!' and instantly there were hands all over holding him in place; huge, white gloved hands like those of a cartoon character attached to the end of black and yellow tentacles that had emerged from the base of the chair. They held him by his shoulders, arms, hips, and ankles, preventing him from struggling. Two large hands even clamped over his mouth to keep him from moving his head or even screaming.

"Get off him!" Mondo roared, throwing himself at the machine. Instantly two more hands sprung from the base of the chair and grabbed him by the throat. Mondo's body was slammed against the far wall as the two hands constricted around his windpipe.

This was it.

They were going to die here.

Mondo was kicking and struggling and trying to pry the hands off of his throat but even he wasn't a match for their strength. Mondo was going to die, and it was all Makoto's fault. If he hadn't run after those people with the Witch's Kisses, made Mondo go looking for him, then all this-

(( _Naegi-kun! Oowada-kun! Are you okay?_ ))

((. _...Chihiro?_ ))

(( _Hold on, Naegi-kun! I'll be there soon! It's going to be okay, I promise!_ ))

How soon was 'soon?' Mondo didn't have a lot of time. If Chihiro came even a few minutes too late-

(( _Hey kid, wanna make a wish?_ )) Monokuma's morbidly cheerful voice rang through his head. (( _If ya don't feel like waiting, you can make a contract with me right now and bust yourself outta there! Just say the magic words!_ ))

Form a contract? Become a Puer Magi? In this situation, could he really afford to say no? Even if he ended up dying in battle later, it would be better than dying now. Makoto steeled himself to reply to Monokuma, and then...

(( _Yeah, alright._ ))

Makoto blinked. Mondo? Peeling his eyes open, he locked eyes with the biker across the room. Huge sweat drops were rolling down his face, but he still seemed to have some cognition. As soon as their eyes met, Mondo nodded.

(( _Yo, bear-thing, listen up! I wish-_ ))

Makoto squeezed his eyes shut as a brilliant orange light filled the office.

* * *

(AN: Poor Makoto can't catch a break. What? That's all my fault? Pfffft, I dunno what you're talking about. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I think I'm getting a little better at picking out my mistakes, but again, feel free to point out any you've noticed. Who wants to guess what Mondo's wish is/was?)


	5. You Have No Idea

The stench of blood filled the hallway. Corpses of men and women dressed in security uniforms hung pinned from the walls by black spears, their blood spattered across the walls and ceiling and floor. In the middle of it all, Junko strolled along happily, humming a cheerful tune as she snacked on some takoyaki balls.

"Too bad my dopey big sis ain't here to take care of these guys for me. Well, whatever. I wonder if finding their people skewered like stuck pigs will make the higher ups despair?" she mused aloud through her snack.

(( _Who cares?_ Their _despair doesn't do me any good,_ )) Monokuma replied, waddling along behind her as fast as he could while avoiding the pools of blood. (( _I'm more interested in how they managed to find out about_ him.))

The hallway lead to a single massive door locked by a retinal scanner. Junko smirked as she used her toothpick to stab something on her tray that was most definitely not a takoyaki ball.

"Sure was nice of that trustee to let me borrow this for a while!" she chimed as she tossed the tray with the remaining takoyaki balls aside. Monokuma immediately helped himself. "Didn't even have to debase myself to get it! The Lolita aesthetic doesn't mean I'm easy!"

The scanner hummed as Junko held up the trustee's stolen eyeball to it and with a soft click the door slid open. Then the eye ended up on the floor just like the takoyaki. Monokuma ate that as well.

"Open sesame!" Junko said as she stepped into the room.

There was no light at all. The only light came from the hallway behind them and cast long shadows of Junko and Monokuma on the floor. It was so dark that it was impossible to make out any features inside. Even so Junko sauntered in confidently. As she neared the center of the room, however, her steps slowed as she caught sight of something red gleaming in the dark.

(( _Upupupupu_.))

A Soul Gem. Red as blood, placed perfectly atop a pedestal in the exact center of the room. It was contained inside of a clearly high-tech container that hummed with energy. The red light from the Soul Gem lit up Junko's face as she leaned over it, transforming the expression of pure joy on her face into something sinister.

"Kamakura-senpai! I! Found! Yooooouuu!" she exclaimed as she fawned over the Soul Gem. Of course, the Soul Gem itself couldn't answer.

(( _How did those bastards even manage to recreate this? Our technology is so advanced it makes you humans look as dumb as cows. Even a cruddy little isolation field like this shoulda been impossible for you!_ ))

"Oh, who cares? What matters is it really works!"

As she said that, Junko looked past the pedestal, into the darkness. Pushed against the very back wall of the chamber was a single small cot. On the cot was the unconscious form of a teenage boy, with insanely thick, long dark hair and dressed in a hospital gown. He hadn't so much as twitched since Junko came into the room, and he scarcely even seemed to breathe.

"And if those dumb cows can make this, then that means it'll be easy-peasy for me!"

Monokuma tilted his head to the side.

"Only, I'm not gonna make a dinky little thing like this! For what I got in mind, I'm gonna make an even bigger one! Like, say, big enough to hold sixteen Soul Gems? Whaddya think, Monokuma?"

((S _ounds pretty pointless to me. As long as they're contained in those isolation fields, Soul Gems are useless! They can't interact with the outside world, or be interacted with at all. As powerful as this Puer Magi might be, he's about as useful as a paper weight right now_.))

"I know, so despairing, isn't it?" Junko's eyes sparkled. "All that power, and he's completely helpless. I could kill him right now and he couldn't do a damn thing about it! How completely despairful!"

The boy in the cot didn't react.

"Lucky for him, I have an even more beautiful despair in mind." So saying, she reached for the red Soul Gem. "So let's bust you outta there, m'kay, Kamukura-senpai?"

Her hands closed on empty air. Junko's face held its pleased expression for several seconds before she processed the feel of nothing inside her closed fist.

"Wait what?"

Eyes traveling to the other side of the room, she found the cot empty. The blankets were folded neatly. There was no sound of retreating feet or flash of movement out of the corner of her eye. Just... nothing. One moment they were there. The next they weren't.

"Wait, what?"

Monokuma stared at the empty space where the Soul Gem once was with a blank face.

* * *

Makoto squeezed his eyes as tight as he could as a brilliant orange light filled the room. He could feel the hands holding him constrict for a moment as though they too were recoiling from the light. The next several moments were a confused blur. Suddenly he heard a series of sharp _snaps_ and the pressure holding him down disappeared.

Hands - warm, gentle, human hands - grabbed him off of the dentist's chair and set him down on unsteady feet. Slowly the light receded and, cautiously, he started to peel his eyes open. Makoto only caught a glimpse of a long, white coat before he heard another violently loud smashing sound.

The _clack clack clack_ ing of the teeth filled Makoto's ears, but they didn't immediately swarm him and devour him to the bone. Instead Mondo let out another furious yell and leaped out of the shattered window, sledgehammer in hand.

The dentist's chair trembled in the middle of a pile of broken glass and with a powerful swing Mondo destroyed it completely, sending a geyser of pink blood shooting into the air.

The stuffed animal familiars trembled and started to back away fearfully but the flying teeth didn't.

"Look out!" Makoto cried as the familiars attacked Mondo as a single unit. With inhuman speed and dexterity, Mondo swung that massive sledgehammer and knocked the familiars out of the air. Each familiar disappeared in a spray of pink goop, or hit the ground with the force of a bullet. Makoto watched in awe as Mondo destroyed them.

When the last of the teeth had been taken care of Mondo turned on the stuffed animals. They flinched as his blazing eyes landed on him and tried to flee. Mondo grinned as he lifted his sledgehammer and threw it at them. The weapon blurred as it spun in the air and connected with a sharp _crack_ with the back of the nearest stuffed rabbit. Two more sledgehammers appeared, one in each of Mondo's hands, and he hurled them at the remaining two stuffed animals, ending them the same way.

"Fuckin' a!" Mondo shouted, pumping a fist in the air. An orange gemstone gleamed on the back of his hand. "That was amazing! I mean, I was strong before, but... Damn!"

"Oowada-kun..."

Mondo spun around, as though just remembering Makoto was there. During the fight Makoto had cautiously stepped out of the strange building to observe Mondo's transformed state. His Puer Magi outfit looked a lot like the clothes he normally wore, but where his normal coat was black with gold lettering, this one was white with orange flames running along the end and around the edges of the sleeves. There were chains wrapped around his waist and ankles, but they didn't seem to slow or impede his movement in any way, so Makoto assumed they were only decorative.

"Oh yeah, Naegi! You alright?"

Nervously, Makoto nodded. He could feel a few aches and pains from where he had been grabbed and guessed when he next took a shower he would find plenty of bruises, but he was alive, and that was what mattered.

"Yeah, I'm fine. But Oowada-kun, you..."

"Hm?" Mondo blinked. "Oh, don't worry 'bout me. I'm good. See?" He indicated his shoulder, which no longer had even a drop of blood on it. His Puer Magi uniform had no rips or tears where his original jacket did, and as he rolled his arm around he didn't seem like he was in any pain anymore. "The wish worked! Good as new!"

Mondo chuckled, but Makoto couldn't help feeling bad.

"I guess it kinda sucks it happened like that," Mondo continued. "I mean, I can think of tons of better wishes now, but, well, shit happens, ya know? At least we're alive."

That was true. Mondo hadn't had any time to think, he'd just said the first thing that came to mind, which was to heal the wound the familiar left on his shoulder. Makoto was thankful that Mondo had made his wish when he did and saved them, but again, he regretted he'd been such a coward and hesitated. Maybe then Mondo wouldn't have had to waste his wish.

Makoto didn't get much of a chance to dwell on it. He heard the sound of footsteps rapidly approaching. Turning, he found Chihiro running towards them, dressed in his Puer Magi gear and carrying Monokuma on his shoulder.

"Naegi-kun! Oowada-kun! Thank goodness you're alright!" Chihiro cried as he came to a stop before them. Mondo stared at him with wide eyes.

"Whoa! What's with the getup?" Then his eyes went wide. "Wait, what do I look like right now!?"

Chihiro chuckled as Mondo started inspecting his new outfit.

"Don't worry, Oowada-kun, you still look super tough!" Apparently Mondo couldn't find fault with the flames on his Puer Magi outfit. "I'm sorry I got here so late. When I discovered the labyrinth I tried to get to you as quickly as I could, but this place is surprisingly complex. Thankfully Monokuma-kun showed up when he did."

Mondo glared at the mascot hanging from Chihiro's shoulder.

"That dumb looking stuffed animal? That's the thing that granted my wish?"

((W _ho are you calling a stuffed animal!?_ )) Monokuma growled. ((I _'m Monokuma! The lovable mascot who turns ordinary boys and girls into magical warriors of hope!_ ))

"When Monokuma returned, I was able to use telepathy to track your location," Chihiro explained. "I'm sorry I couldn't find you sooner."

"Hey, no worries," Mondo replied with a shrug. "Wasn't the worst shit I've ever been stuck in."

Makoto seriously doubted that.

"'Sides, fighting those familiars was kinda... thrilling. I dunno how to explain it. Just feels like I was meant to do this."

"I can understand," Chihiro said with a nod. "It was the same for me in my first fight. Even though I'd never been in the fight before, I knew exactly what to do and how to use my weapon. My body could do things I'd never been capable before. It's a one of a kind experience."

"Yeah, you get it!" Mondo said excitedly. "I've never felt this strong before! I feel like I could take down a hundred guys without breaking a sweat!"

Still smiling, Chihiro said, "In that case, are you ready to face a stronger enemy?"

Mondo stared at him blankly.

* * *

As it turned out, it was a probably a good thing they hadn't gone through the door in the back of the office.

 **5**

A long narrow hallway stretched out before them, the walls decorated with velveteen curtains.

 **4**

They didn't move. Rather, the space around them did, the end of the hall rushing towards them while a film reel spun above them.

 **3**

Wicked laughter echoed from everywhere at once.

 **2**

And then, with a final flourish-

 **1**

-the curtains parted.

The Witch danced on a stage with a spotlight shining down on it. It resembled a devil or an imp, with pink horns and a pink, forked tail, and little pink butterfly wings. The Witch cackled as it fluttered around the stage, showing off rows upon rows of perfectly straight, white teeth.

"Creepy," Mondo said the second he saw it. Chihiro nodded and summoned his staff. In a flash of binary code it became a war hammer which he swung up and let rest on his shoulder.

"Be careful. This Witch can control many people at once, so it's probably pretty powerful." Turning, he said, "Stay here Naegi-kun. We'll keep you safe."

"Okay," Makoto replied with a nod.

Releasing a shrieking cackle, the Witch launched a barrage of teeth familiars at them. Mondo's and Chihiro's movements mirrored each others as they knocked the familiars out of the air. Chihiro's movements were graceful as he leaped on top of the backs of the chairs filling the theater and raced towards the stage. Mondo charged straight down the middle of the row, knocking aside the familiars in the way.

Unlike the last one, this Witch didn't seem interested in fighting them directly. It laughed as it circled the air overhead, sending wave after wave of familiars at them. Mondo threw his sledgehammers at it, but the Witch whirled and spun in the air and avoided each of his attacks. The sledgehammers crashed into the walls and ceilings, sending down a rain of debris.

"Hold still goddammit!" Mondo roared.

"Oowada-kun, stay calm!" Chihiro called as he landed on the stage next to him. "I think I have an idea. Do you see that?"

Chihiro pointed at something high in the air near where the Witch was flying; the massive lights and rigging that were common in any theater. Mondo grinned, seeing where Chihiro was going with this.

"Yeah, I gotcha. Stand back!"

Chihiro leaped back, transforming his weapon from a hammer to a sword. More familiars appeared and he cut them down in rapid succession. Up on the stage Mondo summoned two more sledgehammers and hurled them with all his might at the rigging.

"Hey you bitch! Try dodging this!"

She dodged rather easily, in fact, but then that was the point. As the Witch was cackling once more Mondo's sledgehammers collided with the rigging above her head. There was a loud groan and as the Witch slowly turned towards the source of the noise the lights suddenly came crashing down.

The familiars screamed and fled and Chihiro and Mondo leaped off of the stage as the lights, curtains, and Witch all came crashing down in a heap. Its teeth became razor sharp and it started to scramble out from underneath the wreckage, but then a sea of binary code engulfed the stage. The numbers ran over the Witch's form, pinning it down as Chihiro walked up to it. The Witch's struggles slowed to a stop as it looked up at the Puer Magi, who had transformed his weapon into an axe and was holding it high in the air over its head. Then, with a clean stroke, Chihiro brought his weapon down, slicing the Witch's head in half.

Time seemed to slow down for several moments after Chihiro turned his weapon back into a staff and took a step back. Then a fountain of pink shot out of the Witch's head. The world began to spin, shapes and colors blurring together, and when it stopped they were back in the alley where Mondo had saved Makoto. The two men from before were still lying unconscious, and the markings on their necks were nowhere to be seen.

"What, was that it?" Mondo asked with a laugh as he transformed back. "Man, that was way easier than I thought it would be!"

"I think that Witch was used to relying on familiars and people it controlled, so it was weak when attacked directly," Chihiro suggested. Binary code engulfed his clothes and in a flash he was back in his normal wear. Turning to Makoto, he asked, "Are you okay, Naegi-kun? You're not hurt anywhere?"

Makoto didn't get a chance to answer before Mondo cut him off with, "What're you, his mom? Naegi's fine. I didn't let anything happen to him."

"I-I see," Chihiro said, somewhat nervously. "It's not that I doubt your abilities, Oowada-kun. I just wanted to make sure..."

"By the way," Makoto said as another thought occurred to him. "Where is Hagakure-kun?"

Chihiro and Mondo stared at Makoto before exchanging a worried look. In unison, the three boys took off at a run back towards the arcade.

* * *

"You guys seriously suck. Seriously. I was waiting at that arcade forever!"

Hiro was already gone by the time the three of them made it back to the arcade, so they ended up having to apologize to him at school the following Monday. Unfortunately, Hiro didn't seem to be in a very forgiving mood.

"I was waiting around forever for you guys but you just up and vanished! I thought you were abducted by aliens or something!"

Makoto stared at him blankly. Hadn't Hiro said he didn't believe in the paranormal?

"I-it wasn't intentional, Hagakure-kun!" Chihiro insisted. A little nervously, he said, "Th-there were, um, extenuating circumstances..."

Hiro raised an eyebrow, looking unconvinced.

"It was my fault!" Makoto said. "I thought I saw someone I recognized from my old high school and tried to follow them. It turned out I was mistaken, and they... Um..."

He didn't want to explain what had happened next. He would have preferred to just wipe that from his memory altogether. Fortunately, Mondo came to his rescue. Again.

"Dude tried to mug 'im," Mondo lied.

(( _Thanks,_ )) Makoto thought.

(( _No prob,_ )) Mondo thought back.

"Wait, someone else tried to sell Naegi-chi's organs!?" Hiro squawked, drawing stares from their other classmates. Makoto laughed humorlessly.

"Well, I don't think they were going to sell my organ- Wait, what do you mean, 'someone else?'"

Hiro's eyes went wide and droplets of sweat started to accumulate on his forehead. Mondo and Chihiro both glared at him, though Mondo's glare had considerably more heat to it.

"So anyway," Hiro squeaked in an attempt to change the subject, "Why didn't you guys message me or something?"

"The situation got a little crazy and it slipped our minds," Makoto answered. "Sorry about that."

"...Aw, how can I be mad at a face like that." With a boisterous laugh, Yasuhiro reached across the desk and ruffled Makoto's hair. Makoto wasn't entirely sure he was comfortable with that and batted his hand away. "Don't worry, kiddo, I forgive ya!"

"I-I'm not a little kid you know!" he huffed indignantly. Hiro just laughed.

"Naegi's gotta point," Mondo chimed in. "He may be younger than the rest of us, but he's still our classmate, so show some goddamn respect!"

"Yeah! Wait, what?" Makoto stared at Mondo in shock, and then Hiro, and then Chihiro who didn't seem to find anything strange about what Mondo had just said. "How... How old do you guys think I am!?"

Raising an eyebrow, Mondo guessed, "I'unno. Fourteen or something?"

"That sounds about right to me," Hiro added.

"I was thinking closer to sixteen?" Chihiro said. The other two gave him an odd look, as though his guess was completely out there. Makoto couldn't help feeling a little insulted.

"Fujisaki-kun's guess was closest," Makoto confirmed. "I'm seventeen."

Mondo and Hiro stared at him in shock.

" _Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat_!?" both screeched in unison, drawing stares from their classmates once more. Makoto flinched. It wasn't that shocking!

Before the conversation could continue further the first bell rang. There was a mad scramble as the students raced for their desks and a moment later Miss Taresawa walked in.

Makoto frowned to himself as Ishimaru lead the morning greeting. Fourteen? Really!?

* * *

Makoto spent a good portion of class wondering whether or not he should head up to the roof as he had been doing the week before. That was... That was what he, Junko, and Sayaka did together. Without Sayaka, however, the dynamic was all wrong. Junko probably still didn't want to see him, and no doubt Chihiro would rather eat with Mondo and the others. By the time the lunch bell rang Makoto had made up his mind and decided to eat in the dining hall.

He was just on his way there when he heard a familiar voice call his name.

"Naegi Makoto."

Jolting, he whirled around to face Mukuro. She looked... mad, for lack of a better word. Not mad like Mondo-mad, or Junko-mad. Her expression really hadn't changed that much from how it normally was, but she seemed more... intense. Like she was just barely holding herself in check.

"C-can I help you, Mukuro-san?" he asked, trying not to flinch under her overwhelming aura.

"I was under the impression that you decided not to become a Puer Magi."

There were a few students around, but Mukuro didn't seem to care about the possibility of being overheard. All of her focus was on Makoto.

"Yeah," he replied with a nod. That was what she wanted, wasn't it? So why did she seem so angry?

"If that's the case," she all but growled, "why am I finding out from Monokuma that you wandered into a Witch's labyrinth of your own volition?"

Oh. She'd found out. Makoto was honestly surprised she even spoke to Monokuma at all. Considering she'd tried to kill him before, he wouldn't have expected him to give her information.

"I-it was an accident!" he insisted. "I mean, sort of. I _did_ follow those people with the Witch's Kisses... But that was only so I could tell Fujisaki-kun where they were! I'm still not planning on making a contract!"

"But in doing so you placed yourself in unnecessary danger," she snapped. "That was unbelievably stupid."

It wasn't like he didn't know that already, but hearing her call him 'stupid' still stung.

"You shouldn't involve yourself," she continued, heedless of the hurt that flashed across Makoto's face. "And that means staying away from those who have already formed contracts."

"But they're my friends!" Makoto protested. "How can I just avoid them!?"

"And what will you do when they eventually meet the same fate as Maizono Sayaka?" Makoto flinched as though struck, but Mukuro didn't seem to care. She continued, "Your Magi friends have signed their own death warrants already, and if you insist on hanging around them you'll just end up placing your head on the chopping block alongside theirs."

"No, you're wrong!" he insisted. Mukuro was unmoved.

"I won't remain patient forever," she said menacingly. "If you continue to behave in such a foolish manner, I will be forced to take more drastic measures."

" _Hey!_ "

The shout rang out before Makoto could even begin to process what she might have meant by 'drastic.' He turned to the shout's source to find Junko stomping towards them, hands balled up into fists and pink pigtails bouncing with each step.

"What do you think you're doing to Naegi-kun?" she demanded as she placed herself between him and her sister. Makoto didn't want to admit it, but in this case he felt thankful.

"Nothing. We're just speaking," Mukuro replied, voice monotone.

"Don't give me that crap!" Junko snapped. "I dunno who you think you are, but I'm not letting you get away with fucking with my friends anymore! Now back off before _I_ do something 'drastic!'"

Mukuro's eyes narrowed. Then she spun on her heel and left without another word. Makoto didn't relax until she had turned the corner.

"You okay, Naegi-kun?" Junko asked as he let out a sigh of relief.

"Yeah," he replied, forcing a small smile. "Thank you for that, Enoshima-san."

"Yeah, no problem..." She frowned, playing with her hair as she studied a spot on the floor. "Listen, Naegi-kun..."

"Hm?"

"...I'm... sorry... About what I said before..." Junko forced herself to meet his eyes. "I didn't really mean it. I was just pissed, you know?"

"Yeah, I know," Makoto assured her. "I understand, Enoshima-san, and I don't blame you for being angry."

"But you're still not going to become a Puer Magi, right?"

Makoto hesitated for only a moment before shaking his head 'no.'

"I'm sorry, but I've made up my mind. Maybe someday I will have a wish big enough to risk my life for, but I just can't do it right now."

"Yeah, I get it," she said. "It's a shame, but hey? What can ya do? Not everybody's got what it takes after all."

He was sure she didn't mean it the way it sounded, but even so, Makoto couldn't help but feel a stab of pain at her wording.

"Anyway," she continued, "you wanna eat lunch together?"

"Sure," he replied. "I'd really like that." A thought occurred to him. "Oh, but, do you mind if we eat in the dining hall today? I figured we could eat with Fujisaki-kun and his friends, and since Oowada-kun just formed a contract I think it might be good of you got along."

"Oowada-kun did?" Junko replied. She started walking and Makoto fell into step beside her. "That's a surprise. I didn't think he had the talent for it."

"I think it took him by surprise too," Makoto said. "Monokuma only spoke to him for the first time right before making the contract. It was kind of... a difficult situation. Oh!" Junko shot him a look. "That reminds me, is Monokuma here today?"

"Yup yup!" Junko replied cheerfully. "Safe and sound, tucked in my bag. Dumb bear was up late last night, so he's snoozin' away right now."

"I see."

"So, about that difficult situation..."

"Oh, uh..." Scratching his cheek nervously, Makoto said, "I saw a group of people with Witch's Kisses, and when I tried to follow them I got attacked. Oowada-kun saved me, but we ended up stranded inside the labyrinth."

Junko stopped in her tracks, staring at Makoto in shock. He braced himself for the scolding. Suddenly she whipped out her phone, fingers flying furiously across the keypad before she held it up to his face while shouting, "Wait, is that what _this_ was supposed to be about!?"

The contact listed in Junko's phone was listed as 'Mega Cutie' and the message was a garbled mess, but Makoto could make out a word here and there. Enough to realize this was the same message he'd sent her the day before.

"...Whoops."

"I was so confused!" she shouted, shoving her phone back into her pocket. "Are you telling me you were being cornered by a Witch and that's why it turned out like that?"

"Ah, no... I sent that when I was following the people being controlled by the Witch, but I was running and trying to keep an eye on them at the same time, so I guess that's why it got all messed up." Makoto laughed sheepishly and scratched the back of his neck. "I tried to send another message after we actually got stuck, but I couldn't get a signal inside the labyrinth."

"Shit. You were super lucky you had Oowada-kun there to risk his life for you. If you'd been all alone..."

Again, Makoto told himself that she didn't mean it the way it sounded. Still, he couldn't stop that sharp pang of guilt.

* * *

Chihiro was happy to have Junko join them for lunch, and Mondo and Hiro were ecstatic. Junko tossed them a couple of playfully flirty remarks before shutting them down bluntly and turning to Chihiro and Makoto for conversation. Chihiro was happy to talk to her about the arcade they'd gone to and Makoto's amazing winning streak at the chance games. Although Makoto hadn't really been keeping track, Chihiro apparently had and excitedly revealed that Makoto had accumulated nearly ten-thousand points on that first day. Junko spit out her drink.

"Holy shit Naegi-kun! That's impressive!" she exclaimed while Hiro complained and grabbed a handful of napkins to wipe her soda off of his face. "No wonder you're the Ultimate Lucky Student!"

"Aha, no, I'm not..." Makoto chuckled sheepishly. "I actually lost my point card, so..."

The others seemed more disappointed about the loss than Makoto himself was.

"No way! You won all those points just to lose them right away!?" Junko cried.

"Man, do you have good luck or bad?" Mondo asked.

"Neither!" Makoto insisted. "I don't really believe in luck. It was just a coincidence!"

"I dunno," Hiro commented, still dabbing at his face with a napkin. "Seems like an awfully weird coincidence to me."

"Either way, I'm sorry, Naegi-kun," Chihiro said. "To have won all those points, and then lost your card..."

"I don't really mind," Makoto said with a shrug. "I had lots of fun hanging out with you guys. The points didn't really matter."

"Really?" Mondo asked. "So, next time we go, can I have all your points?"

Chihiro's expression lit up. "So you're saying you'd want to go again?"

Catching himself, Mondo sniffed and reached for his drink. "Uh, sure, why not? It was kinda cool hangin' out with you weirdos."

"I don't think you're in any position to call anyone else weird, corn cob," Junko teased. Makoto, Chihiro, and Hiro all laughed as Mondo got flustered and started arguing in defense of his haircut.

((B _y the way,_ )) Junko said as she continued to playfully tease Mondo aloud, (( _Naegi-kun tells me you're a new member of the Fancy Jewelry Club, Oowada-kun?_ ))

"The what now?" he asked, before realizing what she was talking about and switching to telepathy. (( _Yeah, that's right. What's it to you?_ ))

(( _Geez, all defensive! I was just curious!_ )) She grinned at him. (( _Plus I wanted to see if you actually knew what was in the package deal, since you signed up in a tight spot and all._ ))

(( _I know about Grief Seeds and shit, if that's what you mean._ ))

(( _That's good! It would be bad if you didn't know about that little detail! Outta curiosity, what did you wish for?_ ))

(( _My shoulder got fucked up by a familiar, so I wished to heal it,_ )) Mondo replied.

(( _Whaaaaaaaaat? That's it?_ )) Junko rested her chin in her hand. (( _You coulda just healed yourself right up as soon as you turned into a Puer Magi, you know._ ))

(( _Whatever! I didn't really have time to think about it! I had to make my wish right away or those monsters woulda killed us, so I just said the first thing that popped into my head!_ ))

(( _Alright, alright! You made your point!_ )) Junko droned. (( _Still, it sucks you didn't get a chance to pick your wish. If you coulda, what would you've wished for?_ ))

Mondo seemed stumped for a minute. (( _I guess it depends. Is that mono-bear around?_ ))

(( _Of course! Otherwise, we wouldn't be able to communicate like this!_ )) Junko replied. (( _Hold on, lemme wake him up._ ))

Makoto heard a muffled thump under the table and imagined Junko must have kicked her bag.

(( _Whazzat? Wha's goin' on?_ )) Monokuma drawled sleepily.

(( _Hey, Monokuma-chaaan! Corn cob's got a question for you!_ ))

(( _Don't call me that!_ )) Mondo roared. (( _Anyway, is there a limit on wishes?_ ))

(( _You only get one per contract, no exceptions,_ )) Monokuma snapped irritably.

(( _No, I know, I'm just wonderin'... Are there wishes you_ can't _grant?_ ))

(( _Well it depends,_ )) Monokuma replied. (( _What are you thinking of?_ ))

(( _Like, could you bring someone back from the dead?_ ))

This time Makoto couldn't completely stop his reaction. He tensed, looking from Mondo to Junko, who shot him a sympathetic look.

(( _Tough beans,_ )) Monokuma said, true to his word. It seemed their mascot didn't know the meaning of the word 'sympathy.' (( _Sorry chump, it doesn't work that way. I can bring the body back no prob, but the soul's another matter._ ))

Mondo sighed. (( _Yeah, somehow I kinda figured._ ))

(( _But_...))

Everyone who could hear Monokuma perked up at that one word.

(( _There is someone else who might be able to do it. Someone sitting at this table in fact!_ ))

Makoto bit the inside of his cheek.

(( _What do you mean? Who is it?_ )) Mondo asked. There was a hopeful look on his face and Makoto could feel his heart twist painfully at the sight of it.

(( _Weeeeeeeeeeell, it doesn't matter._ ))

(( _What do you mean it doesn't matter!?_ ))

(( _Well, he already decided not to become a Puer Magi, so there's nothing I can do about it!_ )) Monokuma chimed. His voice was way too cheery for the subject matter.

Immediately Makoto felt Mondo's eyes on him. He was the only one Monokuma could have been referring to, after all.

"Uh, hey guys..."

Thankfully Hiro interrupted before the conversation could go further.

"Is everything okay?" Hiro asked. "You've been pretty quiet for a while, and you're all making weird faces at each other."

"S-sorry, Hagakure-kun," Chihiro said. "I think we all just got a little lost in thought..."

"At the same time?" he asked skeptically. "I kinda feel like I'm being left out of something..."

They spent the rest of their lunch period attempting to convince Hiro that they weren't intentionally ignoring him. Well, Makoto and Chihiro did. Mondo spent most of it burning holes into the side of Makoto's head. Junko just watched them all with an amused smirk.

* * *

For the first time since he'd started attending Hope's Peak, Makoto decided to go straight home that day. It wasn't that he didn't want to spend more time with Chihiro and Mondo and Junko, he did. But they were going off to fight Witches, and since he had decided he wasn't going to make a contract he figured it would be best if he didn't continue to tag along.

It was strangely lonely.

(( _You got left out too, huh? Yeah, that sucks. Least we social outcasts got each other, right?_ ))

(( _Monokuma, why are you following me?_ )) It wasn't that he especially disliked the monochrome bear, but it was strange that the mascot had decided to stick by him when normally it stayed at Junko's side.

(( _I'm hurt! And here I thought we were buds! Or are you telling me to get lost? Is that it? Ack! My delicate feelings!_ ))

(( _No, it's not that! It's just.._.)) Makoto sighed. (( _I'm not going to make a contract, so there's no real reason to stick around, right?_ ))

(( _Maybe, but you seem to get up to interesting stuff. Even if you don't form a contract you might lead me to someone who will!_ ))

That... wasn't a cheery thought. Makoto thought back to the incident with Mondo.

(( _Why did you say that to Oowada-kun? That it wasn't possible for you to bring someone back for him?_ ))

(( _I told him I can't do it because I can't do it!_ )) Monokuma cried. (( _I don't withhold the goods just 'cause I feel like it! I'm a very honest bear you know!_ ))

Makoto wasn't so sure about that. Not anymore.

(( _Then why did you say it might be possible for me?_ ))

(( _Because it might be! Geez, don't you listen?_ )) Monokuma sighed. ((I _can't bring the dead back to life, but_ you _might be able to! If you became a Puer Magi, anyway._ ))

Makoto's eyes widened in shock and he stopped walking to turn and face Monokuma.

(( _So, you weren't saying that you could grant my wish to bring Maizono-san back, but that I could bring her back myself?_ ))

(( _Geez, I thought I made this perfectly clear the last time! Yes, there are limits to what I can do, but your potential power is greater than mine! By like... a lot!_ ))

(( _I don't understand._ )) Makoto started walking again, but there was a troubled expression on his face. ((Why would I be able to do something even you can't do? I'm not anything special.))

(( _Hell if I know! Actually, I want an answer to that question just as much as you!_ )) Monokuma picked up the pace and Makoto slowed a little so the little bear wasn't struggling to keep up. (( _Scientifically speaking, your magical potential shouldn't even be possible. But I think the answer will reveal itself when you eventually form a contract!_ ))

(( _H-hold on a moment! I already said I don't want to form a contract with you!_ ))

(( _Oh yeah! I forgot!_ ))

Makoto seriously doubted that Monokuma forgot.

(( _Well, whatever, I'm sure the day will eventually come when you decide you want that impossible wish after all! When that day comes, make sure you ask extra-nice, or I might not feel like granting it!_ ))

* * *

Examining the surveillance footage stolen from Hope's Peak Academy's records, revealed nothing. Inspecting the holding cell and its surrounding area revealed nothing. Questioning the security team who came to relieve her previous victims before slaughtering them as well also revealed nothing. It was as though Kamukura Izuru had just vanished into thin air.

Of course, Enoshima Junko knew that such a thing was impossible. The Soul Gem and the body had definitely been there, physically, when she first walked into the room. She replayed the scene over and over again in her head, dissecting the sequence of events, and came to two conclusions. One, it hadn't been teleportation. Even if a Magi had that power, they would have needed line of sight in order to teleport an object they weren't physically in contact with. She was beyond certain that she and Monokuma were the only breathing entities in the facility when the Soul Gem vanished. Two, there was someone she knew who could seemingly disappear at will, the same as Kamukura apparently had while unconscious.

Which was why she was furiously hammering the doorbell to her sister's dorm room and Hope's Peak Academy.

It took way too long for Mukuro to answer the door. A full thirty seconds too long. Junko didn't stop tapping her foot in irritation until the door was open and her sister was standing before her.

" _Heeeeey_ , sis!" Junko greeted in an overly affectionate tone. "Been a while! Mind if I come in? I thought we could chat and catch up!"

Mukuro didn't respond right away, taking a moment to weigh her options in her head. The old Mukuro would never have done anything aside from respond to Junko's order disguised as a request right away.

"Sure. Come in."

The dorm rooms provided by Hope's Peak were already furnished, but students were allowed to, within certain boundaries, redecorate them as they pleased. What Mukuro had done... definitely went beyond the boundaries of what was allowed.

"Love what you've done with the place," Junko said as she entered the endless white void that was Mukuro's room and closed the door behind her. "Going for the whole 'minimalist' thing."

It wasn't completely empty. At the very center of the room was a small round coffee table made of glass. As though she was expecting company already, Mukuro had two drinks set out; a steaming cup of tea, and a can of Junko's favorite soda. Two semi-circle couches faced each other on opposite sides of the table, and Mukuro took her seat at one of those. Overhead a seemingly useless structure composed of moving gears and clockwork pieces ticked endlessly, and though there wasn't one to be physically seen the shadow of a massive, ornate pendulum swung back and forth against the far wall. The wall, Junko saw as she approached it, was covered in countless moving images of various Witches, some familiar and others less so.

"You had questions for me," Mukuro said before taking a sip of her tea. She didn't even acknowledge Junko's comment about her room. Rude!

"Uh, yeah I got questions!" Junko grabbed the soda off the table and popped the tab. Then she leaned back on the couch, kicking her feet up on top of Mukuro's coffee table with her shoes still on and took a big swig of the drink. Mukuro watched apathetically. "What the hell'd you do with Kamukura-senpai?"

"Who?"

"Don't play stupid, stupid." Junko took another sip of her drink. "I haven't figured out how you did it yet but you're definitely the one who stole Kamukura-senpai out of that bunker, right?"

Face betraying nothing, Mukuro simply stared at Junko without answering her question.

"I'm betting it has something to do with that funky power of yours. See, first I thought it was teleportation, but that's not it, is it? If you were teleporting you would have appeared in the bunker, grabbed the shit, and disappeared again, but that's not what happened. I'm also betting it has something to do with why you didn't come and get me at the airport, and why you showed up at school acting like a completely different person. So spill: what's up with you and your weird powers?"

(( _I wanna know too!_ ))

Neither girl seemed surprised when Monokuma appeared, seemingly out of thin air, in Mukuro's dorm room. The bear was sitting on the back of the couch Junko was sitting on, curled around a pot of honey which he was scooping out messily with his paws and spilling down his mouth and all over the couch.

(( _I take my job very seriously, you know. Super seriously. Super Duper High School Level Seriously! I remember each and every person I've ever made a contract with and each and every wish I've ever granted, except yours, Ikusaba Mukuro. So spill; if I didn't give you your powers, who did?_ ))

"If you're so clever, you figure it out," Mukuro replied. She took another sip of her tea. "It's actually fairly obvious, if you stop and think about it. I'm sure you'll understand soon enough."

"Eh? You're playing that game? How despairingly unoriginal." Junko drained the last of the soda from the can in one huge gulp. "So you're not gonna tell me. That figures. 'Kay then, what's your obsession with Naegi-kun? You scared of his magical potential? Or is it something else? Love at first sight maybe?"

Mukuro's teacup clinked as she set it down on the glass table. Although her face still betrayed no emotion, there was a tension in her muscles that told Junko she was nearing the chink in her armor.

"So what did you mean earlier by 'drastic measures?'" Junko asked in a sing song tone. "You gonna kidnap him and lock him in a bunker or something?"

"...It's not beyond consideration," Mukuro admitted. Junko howled with laughter.

"Man, you got it bad!"

(( _Why do you even care what happens to that loser anyway? It's not like his fate has anything to do with yours._ ))

"A creature like you could never hope to understand, so I won't waste my time explaining." Mukuro fixed Junko with a cold stare. "Regardless, we've drifted off topic. You want to know what happened to Kamukura Izuru? Simple; he is gone. Beyond your reach. Whatever your plans for him might have been, they amount to nothing now."

"You saying you killed him?"

"Perhaps."

"So you just hid him somewhere?"

"Perhaps."

"Aaargh, you're _soooooo_ not being cool right now!" Raising the soda can to her lips, Junko drained the last of it in one big gulp before throwing the empty can over her shoulder. It clattered noisily as it rolled across the pristine white floor. "Just so you know, I don't need Kamukura-senpai for what comes next. I just thought he might be a fun pawn."

"Oh?" Mukuro tilted her head. "If that's so, you had no reason to come here and confront me. You're wasting time here when you could be out making preparations for the next stage in your plan."

"I can always make time for my favorite sister!" Junko sang. Mukuro took another sip of tea.

"Feel free to search my dorm room to your heart's content," she said. "I assure you, you won't find Kamukura, or the device used to create the isolation field."

Junko raised an eyebrow.

"That's what you really wanted, isn't it?"

Scowling, Junko studied her sister's expression. Then, with a scoff, she stood up, turning towards the door. "Whatever. You wouldn't have let me in here if you stashed him here anyway. C'mon, Monokuma! Let's blow this Popsicle stand!"

As she did that something dropped out of her skirt. Junko smirked as she kicked the grenade towards Mukuro, who hadn't reacted at all to the presence of the threatening object. It landed by her feet, and then vanished altogether. Junko huffed in disappointment.

"No fun."

She slammed the door behind her as she left, leaving Mukuro alone with her thoughts.

Mukuro wondered if Junko would despair at the sight of her destroyed room. Probably not, but it was a surprisingly nice thought.

* * *

Makoto was struggling to focus on his homework that night. That day's conversations kept replaying over and over again in his head, and he couldn't seem to get them to stop.

 _'Not everybody's got what it takes, after all.'_

 _'It's a good thing Mondo was there to risk his life for you.'_

 _((_ I _can't bring the dead back to life, but_ you _might be able to!))_

He'd already decided he wasn't going to make a contract, but was that really okay? He wanted to so much before Sayaka died, and now, because of him, Mondo had wasted his wish and was putting his life on the line too. Mondo had saved him. More than once, even. It seemed like the very least he could do to return the favor was make Mondo's wish come true.

With a frustrated sigh, Makoto flipped his textbook shut. He wasn't getting anywhere. Deciding to get something to drink to calm his nerves, Makoto made his way to the kitchen.

Komaru was already out there when he entered the room. The tv on the counter on and she was watching it while sipping a glass of lemonade. She shot him a playful look as he approached.

"The beast emerges from its lair!" she teased. Makoto rolled his eyes as he grabbed a lemonade for himself.

"You're so not funny." He sat down at the counter next to her. "You're not watching more depressing news, are you?"

"What does it look like?" she retorted. "'Sides, all news is depressing these days."

It certainly seemed that way, with the story they were showing now. A driver had suddenly passed out behind the wheel of his car and swerved into oncoming traffic. There had been two small kids in the backseat, and the car he'd hit had a family of four inside. No one in either car survived the crash, and several more cars had been caught up in the accident and many people were badly injured.

"Why do you watch this stuff?" he asked as he wondered where the remote was.

"'Cause I like to know what's going on in the world around me," she said with an exaggerated pretentious tone. "And because in one of my classes we're supposed to write a short essay about one news story each week."

Ah, that made sense. Makoto went back to watching the news story. A pixelated blur hid the broken bodies, but even so Makoto could tell that it had been horrible.

"Hey, Komaru..."

Tearing her eyes away from the screen, Komaru turned to face her brother.

"This is gonna sound really weird, but say hypothetically, if you could bring one person back from the dead, but you had to risk your life to do it, would you?"

Komaru blinked. "Okay, that is a weird question. What's going on?"

"Nothing, it's just a hypothetical question. Like, say a friend of yours had someone they really cared about who died, and you had a chance to do something about it, would you?"

"If I had to risk my own life to do it?" Komaru asked. When he nodded she gave the scenario some thought before shaking her head. "No, I don't think I could."

Somehow, Makoto found he had been expecting the exact opposite.

"I mean, of course I'd want to help my friend," she continued. "But if it meant trading my life for someone else I don't really know that well... I couldn't bring myself to do it."

"What if your friend hated you for it?" Makoto asked.

"Then they're not really my friend," Komaru answered. "I mean, if they were, they wouldn't expect me to risk my life just like that, right? It would be one thing if I decided I wanted to do it, but if they try to bully me into it that's not fair. It's not really doing the right thing if you only do it because you feel like you have no choice, right?"

"Wow." Makoto stared at his younger sister in shock. "That was a surprisingly mature answer."

"The heck's that supposed to mean!?" Komaru shouted. Makoto chuckled at her reaction.

"I think I get where you're coming from. Thanks, Komaru."

"No problem but... Why'd you ask that anyway? I mean, why did you even think to ask that?"

"Oh, um..." Makoto pretended to cough to buy himself a few more seconds to think. "Something we started talking about in class today. It just got me thinking, that's all."

"Really?" Komaru raised an eyebrow. "Hope's Peak sure has some weird stuff going on."

Makoto laughed.

"You have no idea."

* * *

 _Mukuro handled the heavy body as easily as though she were carrying a child. She was surprisingly gentle as she set him down on her couch, brushing his long hair out of his face before she set the glowing red Soul Gem still contained in its isolation field down on her coffee table._

 _The light of Kamukura's soul gem filled up the whole room, bathing it in an eerie glow. Not taking her eyes off of the device, Mukuro withdrew a handgun from the limitless space within her silver buckler. She clicked the safety off as she raised the weapon, aiming it at the Soul Gem._

 _"I wonder if you're at all aware of what's happening out here?" she mused aloud. "Probably not. For all their technology, even_ they _couldn't figure out how to program magical talent."_

 _That was the last thing she said before she pulled the trigger._

* * *

(AN: Slightly short chapter. Makoto gets to take a breath for once. That's nice. Junko gets up to stuff. That's a little less nice. When I read on the Dangan-Wiki that Makoto was supposed to be seventeen at the time he arrived at Hope's Peak (and thus, was nineteen at the time of the Killing Game) I was really shocked. So I decided to have a little bit of fun with that this chapter.

Poor Hiro keeps getting left out of things. I'll make up for it next chapter. Possibly. Maybe. Maybe not.)


	6. In Preparation for What?

" _I wonder if you're at all aware of what's happening out here?" Mukuro mused aloud. "Probably not. For all their technology, even_ they _couldn't figure out how to program magical talent."_

 _That was the last thing she said before she pulled the trigger._

 _The sound of the gunshot rang out in the silence. In a brilliant flash of light, the mechanical frame supporting the isolation field burst apart, and its pieces scattered across the floor. The light of the Soul Gem flared for a moment, like a person trapped underwater coming up for air. Mukuro watched, lowering her gun but not putting it down. A moment later, the light evened out and Kamukura's eyes fluttered open._

 _Neither said anything for several moments. Kamukura stared up at the ceiling, red eyes gleaming in the dark with the same intensity as his Soul Gem. Then, ever so slowly, he tilted his head to the figure before him. He studied his surroundings, taking in the sight of his Soul Gem, the shattered pieces of the machine that once contained it, and the strange space he found himself in. Piece by piece he constructed, deconstructed, and reconstructed numerous scenarios in his head before settling on the most likely one. Deciding Mukuro was not a threat, he slowly pushed himself upright, swinging his legs over the side of the couch. He made no move to stand or try to retrieve his Soul Gem. He simply stared at Mukuro, waiting for her to make the first move._

 _"Kamukura Izuru. It is nice to meet you. Do you know who I am?"_

 _He looked her up in down. In less than a moment he seemed to have gathered enough information to be able to accurately say, "You are the Ultimate Soldier, as well as a Puella Magi."_

 _Well, the second would be obvious enough thanks to her current attire, and the violet Soul Gem glimmering on the back of her right hand. Most people wouldn't have guessed the first at a glance, however. But then, Kamukura wasn't most people. He was able to glean certain tiny details - the short, practical haircut, the exact structure of her muscles through her clothes, the way she carried herself, the make and model of the gun in her hand - and piece together that she was a soldier, and a highly skilled one at that. Her apparent age set her as a high school student, and thus a viable candidate as one of Hope's Peak's Ultimates. The fact that his most recent memories took place in Hope's Peak suggested he'd been retrieved from there as well, so she must have had access to the school some way or another. The most likely probability was that she was a student there._

 _"My name is Ikusaba Mukuro. I have a request I would like to make of you."_

 _Her eyes were like his. They had given up on the world. She was the same as him but... not. An enigma, but one he would solve in due time. Deciding she hadn't grown too boring yet, Kamukura nodded. An agreement to listen to her request and nothing more._

* * *

After an utterly incomprehensible first week, Makoto's days at Hope's Peak felt tame by comparison. Of course, it was still an eccentric school full of eccentric people. By the third week Makoto stopped panicking every time he felt the building shake, though he still got a bit nervous when he saw one of his upperclassmen walking through the halls with a grizzly bear following him.

Still, better a wild animal than a Witch. In spite of Mukuro's warning, he didn't stop spending time with his Magi friends. If anything, he began to treasure the time he spent with them more, because he knew that each time he saw them could be the last. Mukuro never did anything 'drastic,' thought he looks she would shoot him from across the room made it clear she was displeased. It seemed strange, at first. She didn't really strike him as the type to make idle threats. But the more he thought about it, the less strange it seemed. It was like that feeling he'd gotten when she pointed the gun at him; she acted cold, but Makoto didn't think she really wanted to hurt him. So, despite all common sense, he decided to accept the risk, refusing to abandon his friends.

Of course, he couldn't spend every day with them. There were many days where they were busy hunting Witches, and Junko still had her job. There was also Mondo's gang, the Crazy Diamonds. Although the Ultimate Biker Gang Leader had offered Makoto - multiple times, at this point - to come riding with them, Makoto had declined each time. He doubted anything good would come of him spending time with a a motorcycle gang. In all likelihood he would somehow end up knocking over a line of motorcycles or something equally disastrous and he didn't want to find out what the consequences for doing something like that were.

Gradually, over the next few weeks, Makoto found himself growing closer and closer to his fellow classmates. Hina he reintroduced himself to when he found her running laps one day when Sakura was unable to work out with her. She taught him her trick for remembering names - which was to write them three times on her palm with her finger - before somehow or other persuading him into going running with her. He was utterly exhausted by the time they were finished, but despite that he enjoyed himself. Hina seemed to be overflowing with energy and it was hard not to react to that.

Through Hina, Makoto quickly befriended Sakura. Despite her outward appearance, Sakura was a level-headed and gentle girl. She was quiet and serious most of the time, seemingly the opposite of Asahina, yet the two enjoyed many of the same hobbies and regularly worked out together. A routine that somehow or other Makoto found himself getting roped into. At first Makoto thought that Sakura didn't particularly care for him, but the more they talked the more he saw that she just had her own way of expressing herself. He was completely and utterly floored when, one day after they'd been talking for a while, she confessed to him that there was someone stronger than her, and that person was someone she cared for very deeply.

And then there was Celestia Ludenberg. Curious about his talent, and then again piqued when she overheard Hiro mention Makoto's lucky streak at the arcade, she challenged him to a number of different gambling games to test his so-called 'luck.' She won, naturally. Makoto never had any illusions of beating the Ultimate Gambler at her own game. Yet, she seemed oddly intrigued with the results. When he asked her why she proclaimed that his defeat was not as clean as she would have expected it to be, and that made it 'interesting.' More than once Makoto attempted to question her about her real name or where she was from. Although she never budged on the issue of her name, she eventually divulged that she was from Utsunomiya and her favorite food was gyoza. That the Queen of Liars was willing to tell him that much... Makoto supposed she didn't dislike him, at least.

Little by little, Makoto grew closer to each of his classmates. Even the more closed off ones, such as Byakuya and Kyouko. Byakuya acted cruel on the surface, but Makoto began to see that he'd had a hard life and was conditioned to behave a certain way. Kyouko was a bit different. She was always cool and collected, and constantly held her emotions in check, yet she turned out to have a bit of a playful streak when Makoto attempted to trick her by calling her cute... and ended up being tricked instead when she pretended to be extremely offended. He would admit that he deserved it for attempting to deceive her in such a way, but it was nice to see her playful side.

Makoto would make it a grand total of four weeks before his life took a turn for the worse again. When he looked back on events later, he would be surprised that it had even taken that long.

* * *

Mondo greeted the rest of the group with a huge yawn first thing when they gathered around Chihiro's desk one Monday morning.

"Are you alright Oowada-kun?" Makoto asked as he pulled up his chair.

"Yeah," Mondo replied, brushing him off. "Rough night last night. Enoshima couldn't show 'cause of some model thing. Fujisaki 'n' I had to split up 'cause we found a bunch of different trails. Fuck..." Mondo's hair bent at a odd angle as he plopped his head onto the desk. "'Cause of that bullshit I was up all night chasing Witches and I only got one damn Grief Seed out of it."

Chihiro gave him a sympathetic look.

"Er, I think if you only got one Grief Seed, most of those creatures you fought were familiars, not Witches," he corrected. "Sorry, Oowada-kun."

Mondo's head popped off of the desk and he stared at Chihiro in disbelief. "Whaaaaaaaaaaat? You mean I chased those fuckers all over the city for no goddamn reason!?"

"Well, not for 'no' reason," Makoto reasoned. "I mean, familiars can still kill people, right?"

"Yeah, I know," Mondo replied, shoulders slumping. "Just sucks to do all that fighting and not get anything for it. Plus I got home so late last night I ended up crashing right away and didn't even touch my homework. If this keeps up I'm gonna be screwed for the performance review."

Makoto wondered what kind of homework Mondo had. Since the curriculum was designed to nurture each student's individual talents, most of them got unique assignments in addition to the more traditional math and history assignments. Even Makoto had to keep track of instances of his 'luck' kicking in in a journal which was reviewed by his teachers at the end of each week.

"Um, if you want, Oowada-kun," Chihiro said, somewhat nervously, "I could let you look at my assignments..."

Mondo and Makoto stared at him in shock.

"I-I mean, I can't really help you with any assignments directly related to your talent, b-but having some of your homework done is better than having none of it, right?"

Beaming, Mondo immediately ripped open his school bag and pulled out his books while saying, "Thanks man! You're a life saver!"

"Is this really okay?" Makoto asked as he watched Chihiro pull out his homework assignments as well. He wouldn't have thought that Chihiro would be the type to suggest cheating.

"It's just this once, right?" Chihiro said. "After all, Oowada-kun just became a Puer Magi a few weeks ago a-and is still getting used to it. And, um, I really don't mind helping..."

Chihiro met Mondo's eyes briefly before turning to the books in front of him, a small smile tugging at his lips. Mondo was still grinning at him.

Being a Magi must have really been rough if someone as tough as Mondo was still struggling to adjust, Makoto thought. Although he thought it was a bit odd that Mondo was so worried about his schoolwork, it just went to show appearances could be deceiving.

Ultimately, Makoto ended up deciding to help Mondo with his homework as well. The classroom was mostly empty, but little by little other students trickled in. Not everybody was in the classroom by the time the bell rang, but by now that was the accepted norm. Makoto returned to his own desk and Junko came in and took her seat next to him moments before their teacher walked in.

"Hey, you wanna go do something after school?" she whispered in his ear as Ishimaru lead the morning greeting. Makoto nodded eagerly.

* * *

Makoto's books were already packed neatly in his bag when the final bell rang, releasing them for the day. Junko was slightly more disorganized, throwing her notes and textbooks haphazardly in her school bag. As he was waiting for her Makoto failed to notice the dark-haired girl approaching him from behind.

"N-Naegi," Touko's sharp voice said suddenly. Whirling around Makoto found her standing next to him, holding a stack of papers in her hands so tightly her knuckles were turning white. Her eyes flickered to Junko briefly before returning to Makoto's face. "Th-this is... Well, you know what it is."

As she said that she shoved the stack of papers into his hands unceremoniously. Makoto smiled warmly, not at all perturbed by her curt sentences.

"Oh." She jabbed a finger at him angrily. "And you better not let anyone else read that!"

"I won't, I promise," Makoto said. He was extremely careful as he put her manuscript in his school bag, in between two hardcover books to keep it from getting wrinkled. "Thank you, Fukawa-san. I'll read it tonight when I get home!"

Touko nodded decisively before turning her back on him and scurrying off to grab her things.

Junko, who had been watching the exchange with a raised eyebrow, said, "Weird. When did you and Miss Gloom-and-Doom get so close?"

"Well, I don't know if I'd say we're close exactly. Honestly, I think I just irritate her most of the time when we talk." Makoto flashed a small smile. "But, I'd like to try to be friendly with all of my classmates, if I can. And she really isn't so bad when you get to know her."

Junko stared at him blankly. "Didn't she call you a waste of space and tell you to disappear last time you talked to her?"

"That was Togami-kun, actually," Makoto corrected, expression somewhat sheepish. Together he and Junko left the classroom. "And yeah, Fukawa-san can be kind of... harsh. But she has her reasons, I think. Apparently she got bullied a lot when she was younger, so I think she's just kind of trying to keep herself from getting set up for disappointment."

"Okay, guess that could explain the victim complex but, hold up a moment... Rewind. Did you say you were chatting with the prince of assholes too?"

"Togami-kun isn't that bad." Junko shot him a look. "I mean... He can be kind of... abrasive, but he has admirable qualities too."

"You mean like how _gracious_ he is when he looks down on us lowly commoners?"

Rather than point out that she could hardly be considered 'common,' Makoto said, "Well, like how he values hard work and perseverance, and how he doesn't let himself get complacent. Even before he started going to school here he made a whole lot of money by himself, but even though he was incredibly wealthy without his family fortune he didn't stop working hard to be selected as the Togami heir."

"That doesn't change the fact that he's a major asshole," Junko said. "But anyway, let's go. There's someone I want you to meet."

Makoto didn't remember Junko mentioning many close friends outside of their class. Every so often she brought up people she hung out with at her work, or at clubs, but rarely did she mention names or anything aside from a vague 'this guy I know' or 'some girl I hung out with once.' That left Makoto at a loss for who she could be introducing him to.

"Hate to break it to ya, but I'm not setting you up on a date," she teased when Makoto stared at her expectantly. His cheeks colored immediately.

"I-I wasn't-!"

Junko interrupted him with a hearty laugh.

"C'mon!" Showing no hesitation whatsoever, Junko grabbed Makoto's hand and proceeded to pull him along. "Let's get going! You're going to love this, I promise!"

Makoto stumbled over the first few steps being pulled along by Junko, but with luck he managed to pick up the pace and fall into step just behind her.

"Who are we going to meet anyway?"

"One of our upperclassmen," Junko replied. Unseen by Makoto, the corner of her mouth ticked upwards in a smirk. "Mitarai Ryota-senpai, the Ultimate Animator."

The Ultimate Animator, huh? Makoto wondered what kind of person they were. No doubt an eccentric person, but he was willing to bet they were nice. After all, they were Junko's friend. Makoto was looking forward to meeting Ryota.

Junko was looking forward to him meeting Ryota too.

* * *

Junko didn't lead Makoto to another classroom, like he'd been expecting, or to their rooftop lunch spot or the dining hall or any other common place for students to meet. Instead they left the school building, Junko leading Makoto down the path leading to the reserve course buildings. For a very brief second Makoto thought that maybe Ryota was a reserve student, before remembering that Junko had already told him what Ryota's ultimate title was.

"Enoshima-san, where are we going?"

"Don't worry, it's just a little further."

They walked past the reserve building altogether, but by now Makoto had no idea where they were going. He'd never visited this part of the school.

As though in answer to his unspoken question, Junko asked, "Have you ever been to the West District, Naegi-kun? It's pretty much all reserve course buildings, but there's this park with a wicked old statue out there. That's where Mitarai-senpai is."

"Why all the way out here?" Makoto wondered aloud. Junko tossed him an eerie smirk over her shoulder.

"Seeeeeeecret!" she replied. "It's a surprise, but don't worry, it's a fun one!"

Makoto supposed he would have to take her word for it. Still, Junko seemed to be acting odd. Odd for her, even.

They continued along the path until they came to a green grassy field close to the edge of the West District. As they neared it Makoto found himself slowing to a stop, eyes locked on the towering statue in the middle of the field.

"Kamukura..."

Junko whirled around, eyes wide.

"You know about him!?"

Makoto jolted as though he had, even for a moment, forgotten Junko was there.

"I, er... He's the academy's founder, right? Kamukura Izuru-san?"

"That's right." Junko tilted her head, crossing her arms. She narrowed her eyes as she leaned in close, scrutinizing Makoto's face. "I didn't think you knew about him, Naegi-kun." They were too far away for Makoto to read the nameplate.

"I must have read about him somewhere," Makoto said as he reached up to rub his temple. This only made Junko more suspicious.

"Whaddya mean 'must have?' You read about him, or you didn't, right?"

"I mean... I did a lot of research on Hope's Peak Academy when I got my acceptance letter. I don't really remember reading about the founder, but it probably just slipped my mind until now."

It was a sensible suggestion, but Makoto wasn't entirely sure of it. Junko seemed to be picking up on his uncertainty.

"If you say so," she replied after a prolonged pause. "Anyway, that's where we're headed."

She started walking again, but Makoto hesitated before following her. He was getting that sense of déjà vu again, but this time it wasn't just a strange feeling. It was an anxious one. With each step he took he could feel his head throb as a headache rapidly built behind his eyes. Although he had never even set foot in the West District, the statue of the founder standing atop his pedestal with a cane in his hands seemed familiar to him.

' _I must have seen a replica somewhere,_ ' he tried to reason with himself. That made sense. He didn't believe it, but it made sense.

Junko walked around to the statue's right side and pressed on a hidden panel with her hand while simultaneously stepping on a second hidden panel on the ground. Makoto was far less surprised than he should have been when a secret door opened up in front of the statue, a loud _thunk thunk thunk_ echoing throughout the tunnel as each step of the staircase lowered.

"Enoshima-san..."

Junko turned to him, beaming. No doubt she expected him to be really shocked.

"I don't think we should go down there."

Her smile fell away.

"What? What's with that lackluster reaction? Shouldn't you be all 'No waaaaay! A secret hideout! Thank you for showing me this ridiculously cool thing Enoshima-sama!'"

"I- I don't know. This place feels familiar to me," Makoto admitted. "I really don't think we should go inside."

"Huh? What's that supposed to mean, 'it's familiar to you?' I thought you've never been here before?"

"I haven't!" Junko looked skeptical. "I'm telling the truth! Look, I can't explain it, but I think if we go in there something really bad is going to happen."

For several moments Junko stared at Makoto in disbelief. Then, she burst out laughing.

"The hell Naegi-kun? I know you miss Maizono-san and all, but you didn't have to go and steal her psychic shtick!"

"I'm not making this up!" Makoto insisted, but Junko just kept laughing.

"Don't be such a scaredy cat! I come here all the time and nothing bad's happened to me, right? 'Sides, Mitarai-senpai's in there and he's waiting for us to come see his new anime! That's the surprise I wanted to show you. I convinced the Ultimate Animator to let you get a sneak peek at his upcoming masterpiece! Isn't that super cool?"

It _did_ sound pretty cool, and Junko was making some good points. So why was his heart still hammering in his rib cage? Makoto knew his fear was baseless, so why did he feel so certain that something terrible was going to happen?

"I guess you're right..." he said a bit reluctantly, willing his heartbeat to slow down.

"Of course I'm right! Now c'mon." Junko grabbed his hand again and tugged in along after her as she descended the stairs. "This is gonna be awesome! Mitarai-senpai's anime will change your life!"

Junko didn't really strike him as an avid anime fan, so for her to speak so highly of their upperclassman's work it must have truly been something special. Makoto couldn't help being a little bit excited to see it.

He didn't realize that, as soon as her back was turned so he could no longer see her expression, Junko's bright smile had given way to a deep scowl.

Makoto paid close attention to his surroundings as they descended the steps, scanning the hidden chamber for any trace of something familiar, even though he knew he had never been in this place before. They seemed to walk forever before they finally reached the heavy metal door at the bottom of the staircase.

"Why does the school even have a place like this?" Makoto wondered aloud. Junko shrugged.

"Who knows? Maybe it was an old research lab that got abandoned when they built the new district. I found it by chance and showed it to Mitarai-senpai so that he could have a place to work by himself, without any distractions."

By himself? "Is it really okay for me to come down here?"

"Of course!" Junko placed her hand on the door knob. "And without further ado, I introduce you to the brilliant and beautiful Mitarai Ryo-"

The moment she threw the door open everything in the room just... exploded. Not as though a bomb had gone off. Bullet holes appeared in the posters covering the walls, DVDs and books flew off of the huge display set up in the back of the room, and the impressive three-monitor set up burst apart in a shower of broken glass and violet flashes. It was so sudden. The only sound they heard were the sounds of glass and debris hitting the ground. There was nothing to indicate an explosive or gun had gone off. No one else in the room aside from the two teenagers standing frozen in shock in the doorway. For one, extremely brief moment everything had been normal. The next, it looked like a hurricane had gone through the room.

"The two brave explorers stared in horror at the complete and utter destruction of Mitarai Ryota's secret underground studio. The damage done was inexplicable. What sort of horrible maniac could have created such a scene? Steeling themselves, they decided to brave the dangers to investigate."

Slowly, Makoto turned his head towards Junko.

"Um, Enoshima-san?"

Without acknowledging him, Junko strode into the middle of the room. She placed her hand on her chin, eyes narrowing as she analyzed the room. Shards of glass and shattered DVDs crunched beneath her heels as she walked up to the desk and began examining the destroyed monitors.

"Enoshima-san, we need to get out of here. We need to contact the police or the school board or-"

"No. No police." Junko's tone was curt, leaving no room for debate. "This was magic. The magical trail is so faint it's barely there, but this was definitely the work of a Magi..."

She trailed off, taking a long, slow breath, before turning to Makoto with a bright smile.

"I'm sorry Naegi-kun, but could you keep quiet about this?"

"What?" He stared at Junko in disbelief. "But Enoshima-san-"

"I know, it looks horrible, but I'm certain Mitarai-senpai is safe. It was only for a second, but I definitely saw him right before the room became like... this." Her eyes swept the scene again and she nodded decisively. "If whoever did this wanted to hurt him, they could have offed him just as easily as they destroyed everything, but there's no blood or anything here. I have an idea of who might have done this, and I'd like to deal with it on my own. So please, don't tell any of our friends, okay?"

Junko's earnest expression wore away any lingering doubts Makoto had. She was right. If this was something another Magi caused it would be better for her to deal with it as a Puella Magi, rather than involving the police.

Still, he couldn't help but feel the slightest bit worried.

"Will you be okay dealing with it by yourself though? What if-"

"It'll be fine," she insisted. "Like I said, I already have an idea of who's behind this."

"Then, wouldn't it be better if you asked Fujisaki-kun or Oowada-kun to help you?" Unless... The person she thought was responsible was one of them.

"Nah, I got this, so don't worry your cute little head about it!" She chuckled to herself. How she could be so at ease in the middle of this chaos was beyond Makoto. "Anyway, we should get you out of here. No telling if or when whoever did this might come back."

That was a good point, one that sent a shudder down Makoto's spine. He didn't want to meet whoever had destroyed the room and abducted the Ultimate Animator.

Once more, Junko took Makoto's hand and began leading him away.

"You should prolly head home, or maybe find Fujisaki-kun and Oowada-kun," she said as she lead him up the stairs. "Sorry, but I'm not gonna be able to hang out after all. I gotta find Mitarai-senpai ASAP."

"I understand," Makoto said. She only released his hand when they were halfway up the stairs. He wished there was something he could do to help, but... He really was completely powerless in this type of situation. "You'll be careful, right?"

"Careful's my middle name!" she joked. Although they were only inside for a short period of time, the stark change from the dim halls to the bright afternoon sun stung Makoto's eyes as they reached the top of the staircase. "No it isn't. That was a lie. My middle name's Adorable. No it isn't. That was a lie too. That's your middle name."

Despite himself, Makoto let out a laugh. He appreciated Junko's efforts to cheer him up.

"See you tomorrow?"

"Yeah yeah, I'll tell you what I've found out," she promised. "Now get going! If you're lucky maybe you can catch Fujisaki-kun and Oowada-kun before they leave. You remember the way back to the main course buildings, right?"

Giving her a firm nod, Makoto turned and started on the return path back to the school building. Junko maintained a friendly smile, waving him goodbye.

The moment his back was turned to her, Junko's smile fell and a scowl took its place.

Again, something inexplicable had happened. Something that, not only completely disrupted her plans, but that she couldn't analyze or predict at all. It was as though she were watching a movie and the scene had suddenly skipped ahea-

 _Oh!_ A sly grin tugged at the corners of her mouth. It was exactly as though someone had skipped over a scene in a movie.

Just like what happened in the bunker.

Junko pulled out her bedazzled pink cell phone, scrolling through the contacts until she found the name she was looking for, and hit 'call.' It rang four times before the person on the other end finally picked up. That was three and a half rings too long.

"Yes?" a monotone voice answered.

"Heeeeeeeeeeeeey, big sis," Junko sang into the receiver. "Where ya at right now?"

"...In the school dojo. I'm busy sparring with Pekoyama-senpai, so if it's not important-"

"Where the fuck is Mini-Miyazaki?"

"Who?"

"The Ultimate Animator. Mitarai Ryota. Where is he?"

"How should I know?" Mukuro's voice betrayed nothing. "I've never met this person."

"He's your sparring buddy's classmate."

"I haven't met most of Pekoyama-senpai's classmates." Mukuro sounded exasperated. "If you'll excuse me, I'd like not to keep her waiting any longer."

"Aw, I'm sure you can spare the time."

There was a pause on the other end. Junko smirked.

"In fact, I bet you can spare all the time in the world for your favorite little sister, right?"

"...Goodbye, Junko."

There was a click. Junko's smirk turned into a grin.

Now things were starting to make sense. Of course, she still needed to confirm her theory...

"Upupupupu... Things are getting interesting. This is gonna be more fun than I thought."

* * *

Troubled thoughts swirled in Makoto's head.

Would Junko really be okay alone? He knew she was strong, but even so, to fight an enemy Magi all by herself...

Makoto had promised to trust her judgement, but in spite of that he couldn't help imaging every horrible outcome that could possibly happen as he headed back towards the main building. As his imagination grew darker Makoto shook his head as though to physically dispel the negative thoughts invading his mind. No, Junko was strong and more intelligent than she let on and capable. She would be able to rescue their upperclassman. He just had to have faith in her.

What he needed was something to immerse himself in. Something to help keep his mind off of how powerless he was until he heard some news from Junko.

There was Touko's manuscript. He had promised, after all. He wasn't entirely sure it would make him feel better but at the very least he knew it would take his mind off of Junko and Ryota. With a plan in mind, he decided to head to the school library. If he was really lucky - which he doubted he was - he would run into Touko there so he could tell her what he thought of her first few chapters.

Besides, if he waited until he got home, he knew he would be too wrapped up in worrying about Junko to focus on Touko's writing.

Makoto tried just to focus on where he was going as he made his way back to the main building. He passed by a few students on the way, including the upperclassman with the bear, a colorful girl with horns, and a pink haired boy with sharp teeth. Some were minding their own business and just milling about like common high school students did, but for the most part they were, well...

"I AIN'T GONNA LOSE THIS TIME OLD MAN!"

Being their usual eccentric, Ultimate selves.

"That form is too soft! What are you doing? Use the stance I taught you dammit!"

Makoto ignored the two students dueling seemingly to the death as he walked past them. The fact that the earth was shaking and they'd done some severe damage to the scenery, even knocking over a few trees, hardly even concerned him anymore. By now he'd grown used to seeing those two particular students fighting in random locations all over the school. At least they were outside this time.

As the fountain separating the path between the main course buildings and the reserve course buildings came into view, Makoto slowed to a stop. There were two people there, separate from the rest of the students, who he recognized, and it looked like they were having a private moment.

Chihiro had his hands clasped to his chest, and his eyes were cast to the ground like he was afraid to look up. Even at this distance he seemed to be trembling. Mondo's state wasn't much better. His eyes were wide with panic and he was leaning back from Chihiro slightly.

They were talking to each other, but at this distance Makoto couldn't hear a word they were saying. Not that it was any of his business. They were probably secluded for a reason so, deciding to give them their privacy, Makoto turned and took the longer path back to the main building.

* * *

Hope's Peak Academy's Library was more impressive than any public library Makoto had ever been to in his life. Rows upon rows were filled with various books in languages from all over the world in every genre imaginable. Huge encyclopedias, books on law and history and botany and geography, puzzles both simple and complex... and even comics! Makoto had never seen such a huge variety before.

There was even an archive near the back of the library which apparently contained confidential files accessible only to the staff and a select few students. Makoto shuddered to think what kind of things might be stored in there.

He found a quiet, not-quite secluded but still fairly empty corner of the library to read in. Pulling Touko's manuscript out of his bag, he discovered that the corners of the pages had been bent a little. Makoto hoped she wouldn't be too angry with him the next day.

It didn't take long for him to get sucked into the world of Touko's novel. The words kept flowing into his head, the scenery unfolding before his very eyes. Even if he wanted, Makoto couldn't have stopped himself from attempting to finish in one sitting. However...

"Classmate Naegi-kun!"

Makoto flinched at the sound of Kiyotaka's voice. Even though he was speaking softly so as not to disturb the peace in the library, Kiyotaka still had a booming whisper that instantly commanded attention.

"Is everything alright?" Kiyotaka asked. "I saw you here studying diligently and was going to leave you in peace. However, you began to cry and I couldn't leave a precious classmate alone in that state!"

"Huh?" Slowly Makoto's hand raised to his cheek and... oh! Kiyotaka was right. Without even realizing it he'd begun crying. Furiously Makoto swiped the tears away with the back of his sleeve. "No, everything's alright!" he insisted. "I was just reading something Fukawa-san wrote. It's really good, but it's also really sad."

"I see..." Kiyotaka didn't really seem like he did, but he smiled brightly nonetheless. "Well, I am glad you aren't terribly distressed after all! I am a bit confused as to why you're studying Fukawa-kun's writing, however."

Studying?

"Oh no, I'm not studying it," Makoto clarified. "She wanted to try writing something different and asked me to tell her what I thought of it. And, well, it's fun."

Kiyotaka blinked. "Fun?"

"Yeah," Makoto replied. "Her writing is really good, even if it is really dark. I like reading it."

"Okay?" Kiyotaka stared at him uncomprehendingly. "But how does it help further your studies?"

"My studies?"

"Yes. How does reading an emotionally turbulent tale further your education, Naegi-kun?"

"Er, well..." Makoto laughed sheepishly. "It doesn't really, but Fukawa-san wanted some help branching out from her usual genre. Plus, like I said, it's fun!"

"This makes no sense! As a student, it is your duty to be a studying professional! Doing things 'just for fun' serves no purpose! There must be more to it. You wouldn't spend your valuable time doing something useless, would you?"

Kiyotaka was staring at him expectantly. Makoto seriously doubted he would accept that he really just enjoyed doing things aside from studying as a reasonable explanation. Thinking for a moment, Makoto came up with a practical explanation for Kiyotaka.

"It's not useless. It helps give you something to talk about with other people," Makoto explained.

Kiyotaka looked like the entire world had just shifted around him.

"Something to talk about...?" For once Kiyotaka's voice had lost its commanding tone.

"Like when you see something awesome on TV or play a game you really like, and you want to share it with someone. And you go and talk to other people who feel the same way," Makoto continued. "When I'm done reading this, I'm going to give it back to Fukawa-san and tell her what I think of it, right? So when we talk like that, our bond will grow stronger and we'll be better friends. See? Lots of people make friends that way."

Kiyotaka flinched, huge droplets of sweat forming on his face.

"Wh... Wh- Wh- Wh- Wh- Wh-!?"

Makoto's smile fell. Was Kiyotaka okay? Hel looked like he was short circuiting. Slowly Makoto stood, reaching for his classmate in concern.

"I once was blind, but now I see!" Kiyotaka burst out suddenly, completely forgetting his indoor voice. Makoto was really glad there weren't many other people around, though the few who were were now shooting them dirty looks.

"Wh-what the heck!?" Makoto asked as tears began pouring from Kiyotaka's eyes and snot dripping from his nose.

"That kind of thing has plagued me for years," Kiyotaka sobbed, gripping his head while Makoto tried and failed to console him and simultaneously deal with the stares of other students. "I've tried making friends for years, but whenever I would make conversation, It would die within minutes. And now... I've finally found the answer!"

All at once the flow of tears stopped and Kiyotaka stood tall once more, smiling as he placed his hands on his hips.

"I need to study more games! More TV shows! More novels!"

Somehow, Makoto thought Kiyotaka had managed to completely miss the point.

"N-no, you don't need to 'study' them..."

But Kiyotaka wasn't listening anymore.

"Ahh, I'm so ashamed of myself! If there was a hole around here somewhere, I'd totally go hide in it! I let it get to me, I wasted all that time... I never saw the blind spot in my studies! I'm a complete embarrassment! I'm not qualified to even be on the morals committee, let alone lead it!"

"I- I don't think it's really that big of a deal..." More people were staring at them now, including the librarian. They didn't really seem annoyed though, just... confused.

Suddenly Kiyotaka clasped Makoto's hands in his own, distracting him from the onlookers.

"Thank you, Naegi-sensei!"

Makoto felt his face heat up.

"Sensei!?"

"You've taught me a most valuable lesson," Kiyotaka explained, his grip tightening. "You've earned my respect, and the title of sensei!"

Now his face was aflame. Shaking his head furiously, Makoto insisted, "Th- That's gonna make things super awkward!"

Kiyotaka just laughed off his concern. "There's no need to be modest, Naegi-se-"

The sharp crack of a ruler striking the table cut off the rest of what Kiyotaka had been planning to say. In unison the two classmates turned towards the seething librarian who was glaring icily at the both of them. The onlookers scattered, just as intimidated by his cold stare as Makoto and Kiyotaka were.

"If you're _quite_ done," he hissed, "students come here to read in peace and quiet. Now: get out!"

Makoto sighed as he extracted his hands from Kiyotaka's grasp and gathered his bag. At this point he was starting to think he was cursed.

He left together with Kiyotaka, not noticing that of the students gathered one was still watching him. The white-haired student hummed thoughtfully to himself as he watched Makoto leave, before looking at the thick stack of papers he'd left behind.

* * *

"My deepest apologies, Naegi-sensei," Kiyotaka said as he and Makoto walked towards the train station together. "In my fervor it seems I lost track of my surroundings."

"Don't-" Makoto sighed, trying to keep his tone even. "You don't have to call me that."

"But that is the proper way to address a learned person possessing great wisdom!" Kiyotaka protested, to Makoto's chagrin.

"I'm not... Look, I'm just a normal kid, Ishimaru-kun." Makoto hoped that addressing his classmate as a peer would help snap him out of it. "I'm not especially wise or smart or anything. There's no reason for you to look up to me."

"That's not true at all!"

Makoto was taken aback by the forcefulness of Kiyotaka's declaration.

"Naegi-sensei, you have shown considerable thoughtfulness not only today, but in all of your interactions with our fellow classmates! Even Togami-kun's harsh demeanor softens considerably around you!"

"Ah, well, that's... I just like to get along with my classmates. It doesn't make me 'wise' or anything..."

"And you helped bring Fujisaki-kun out of his shell and showed Oowada-kun how to live a good moral life!"

"I didn't, really!" Makoto insisted. "Oowada-kun's always been a good person. He's just... a little shy about showing that side of him, that's all."

"Is that so?" Kiyotaka asked, raising an eyebrow. Makoto nodded.

"I mean, I bet it's difficult being the leader of such a large gang. He probably feels like he can't afford to show any weakness, so he puts up a tough front. But he really is kind. He takes promises very seriously and he stands up for people weaker than him. In a way, I think the two of you are actually pretty similar."

"I-is... Is that so?" Kiyotaka repeated, sounding a little unsure of himself this time. Makoto tilted his head, wondering what was wrong. Had Ishimaru taken offense to the comparison?

"Ishimaru-kun...?"

Suddenly Kiyotaka was bowing to him. Makoto was too shocked to properly process what was happening as Kiyotaka cried again, "Once again, you have shown me a serious flaw in my way of thinking!"

"Please don't bow!" Makoto squeaked. "And what do you mean by 'serious flaw?'"

"I allowed myself to be taken by preconceived notions and think the worst of my fellow classmate!" Kiyotaka cried as he stood upright, tears once again freely flowing down his face. "Truly, I have no right to be a member of the public morals committee!"

"No, that's not true," Makoto said. "You don't have to be so hard on yourself, Ishimaru-kun. It's okay if you make mistakes. It doesn't make you a bad person."

"I understand, Naegi-sensei!"

'Sensei' again. Makoto laughed awkwardly. He supposed he wasn't going to convince Kiyotaka to drop the title anytime soon.

"I shall take your lessons to heart and endeavor to study more video games and television shows in preparation for tomorrow!"

In preparation? For _what_ exactly?

"I'm looking forward to our next lesson, Naegi-sensei! See you tomorrow!"

Before Makoto could get a word in edgewise Kiyotaka took off sprinting down the sidewalk, leaving his utterly bewildered classmate behind. Makoto stared at Kiyotaka's retreating figure until it had become a speck far in the distance.

Okay, so that just happened. His classmate was calling him... 'sensei' now. Thinking about it, Makoto decided he didn't entirely hate it, although it was pretty strange.

Naegi-sensei, huh?

* * *

From far above, on the roof of the school, a lone figure watched the exchange with an expression of bored indifference, their long, dark hair swaying as a light breeze picked up. At a first glance there was nothing particularly special about that boy down below, and yet, even at this distance Izuru could detect the raw magical potential the boy exuded.

In his memory, Izuru had never truly felt fear. And yet... he couldn't help feeling some trepidation as he stared at the oblivious teenager down below. It was without reason or logic; a quiet, instinctive feeling that had him keeping his distance, never mind the fact that analysis revealed nothing particularly threatening about Naegi Makoto.

...How interesting.

(( _Yo, Chuckles, you didn't bite the dust after all!_ ))

Izuru didn't respond to Monokuma's sudden appearance. The bear was struggling to keep his grip on a live salmon. Where he had gotten the large fish from was a mystery.

(( _Long time no see! You shoulda said you weren't dead! I wasted all that effort preparing a wake and everything, ya know?_ ))

Izuru grunted.

(( _So cold! Cold as the coldest tundra! I can't handle temperatures like these! I'm not a polar bear you know!_ ))

With an irritated sigh, Izuru turned and began to walk away. The wriggling salmon managed to slip out of Monokuma's grasp, and ended up flopping around on the ground.

(( _Hmph, no fun. I dunno what it is about you that Junko likes so much._ ))

Izuru stopped mid-step.

"You are acquainted with Enoshima?" Rough from disuse, his voice barely came out as a whisper. A shudder ran up Monokuma's spine at the sound of it.

(( _W-well, it is my job to make contracts! Of course I'm acquainted with all of the Magi in this academy!_ ))

"And? Do you intend to inform Enoshima of my presence here?"

(( _Huh? Why would I do that?_ ))

Finally Izuru turned around to face Monokuma. Though his expression hadn't changed in the slightest, Monokuma flinched as soon as those red eyes were on him, huge droplets of sweat coating his plush body.

"The information I was given lead me to believe you and Enoshima were collaborating on something."

(( _Not really, I'm more of an observer_ ,)) Monokuma replied with a shrug. (( _Sure, Pigtails' plans are kinda funny, but at the end of it all there's only one inevitable outcome. Now whatever you and that creepy chick are up too... Now that's a mystery!_ ))

"I see. Then is there any reason why I shouldn't kill you right now?"

(( _Urk! So scary!_ )) Monokuma placed his paws over his chest. (( _Well, I suppose you could if you wanted, but really, what good would it do you? I'm just a helpless little bear who can bear-ly fight back! Killing me wouldn't be very interesting, would it?_ ))

Izuru stared at Monokuma, but didn't say anything in response.

(( _How 'bout this: you don't off me, and I tell you something good?_ ))

"I thought your role was just that of an observer."

(( _This is different! It's an honest trade, no different from making a contract! 'Sides, telling you this will make things more interesting; it's the secret of_ that girl' _s power!_ ))

Oh? Assuming 'that girl' referred to who he assumed it referred to, that would be a useful piece of information. So far Mukuro had been extremely careful about using her magic in front of Izuru. She wasn't giving him a chance to properly analyze it.

"I agree."

(( _Alright! The secret is..._ )) Monokuma raised his paws to his mouth, snickering mischievously. (( _I don't know!_ ))

Izuru's eye twitched. It was the closest he'd come to showing any emotion. "Is that meant to be funny?"

(( _Not at all! I'm super serious, and that's why it's strange!_ )) Monokuma explained. (( _My job is to form contracts and transform teenagers into Puella or Puer Magi. I have a hundred percent perfect recollection of every person I've ever made a contract with and my thoughts are linked to all of the other contract-makers out there. There is not a single Magi whose wishes or powers I don't know about. Except for Mukuro's._ ))

That... was interesting information. So the mascot hadn't formed a contract with Mukuro, huh? Or... did he simply not remember forming a contract with her?

"I see. Yes, I believe I can make use of this information."

(( _Oho? So what are you going to do now?_ ))

A burst of red light flashed before Monokuma's eyes. In the next instant he had been impaled by a long, thin sword. Pink blood pooled around his corpse while a few feet away his salmon lay completely still.

He had promised the secret of Mukuro's promise, after all, and failed to deliver. Izuru stared at the corpse blankly for a moment. Then he turned and walked away, his clothes returning to normal in a flash of red light.

* * *

The plane ticket in Ryota's hands had barely survived his nervous twisting and tearing long enough for him to make it to the gate. He supposed he should be thankful to the person who had given it to him.

If not for her he would still be being held captive.

He didn't understand how or why, but he owed a lot to Ikusaba Mukuro. Not just for getting him out, or for providing him with the plane ticket, but also for providing him with the means to start over and storing all of his hard work on a hard drive. How often had the Ultimate Soldier had to start over herself, he wondered? How many times had she changed her name or whole identity?

Ryota let his thoughts continue to wander as he stared out the window of the plane. Maybe someday he would be able to repay her. Maybe not. In all likelihood, he knew he wasn't going to be seeing her again. He just wished he could have said goodbye to the Imposter.

* * *

Mukuro set down her combat knife on the wooden bench before reaching for her water bottle sitting nearby. Sweat dripped down her forehead and her face was flushed from exertion. The Ultimate Swordswoman really was an ideal sparring partner. It had been a long time since she'd broken a sweat in combat.

"That was the best sparring session I've had in a long while," Peko said as she reached for her own water bottle. "We'll have to do this again sometime."

"I'd be glad to, Pekoyama-senpai."

Mukuro was trying to smile for her upperclassman, but the expression felt hollow. It must have looked hollow as well, because Peko frowned and said, "Are you alright, Ikusaba?"

"I'm fine," Mukuro lied. Peko did not seem convinced.

"Does it have something to do with your sister's phone call earlier?"

It did. Mukuro was certain that Junko knew, or at least suspected, what her true power was. She knew her sister would figure out her power - and by extension her wish - sooner or later. She had just been hoping for later.

"We're having a bit of a falling out at the moment," she said, offering her perceptive upperclassman a half-truth as explanation. "It's nothing serious, however. We've had this exact fight hundreds of times before."

"I see."

Mukuro took another sip of water, relishing the cool liquid as it went down her throat. Junko was likely to accelerate her plans now that she was aware of the true threat Mukuro posed. That meant she had to take appropriate measures as well.

* * *

Makoto screamed in frustration as he stared at the mess all over his bed. His notebooks, textbooks, and other school supplies were scattered everywhere, but the one thing he was looking for was nowhere to be seen. It was with no small amount of horror that he realized that he must have forgotten Touko's manuscript in the school library.

Touko was going to kill him.

Throwing a glance at the clock, Makoto did some mental math to figure out how much time it would take him to go back to Hope's Peak and look for it. Figuring he could make it there and back just after dark if he was quick enough, Makoto grabbed his blazer off of his chair and threw it on in a hurry. Komaru called out to him as he raced out the front door, but Makoto didn't spare her a glance. He needed to hurry and find Touko's manuscript before something happened to it.

By now Makoto had become thoroughly convinced that he was cursed.

* * *

(Author's Note: I wanted to expand on Makoto's relationships with some of the other characters in this chapter, particularly those who won't become Magi. They may continue to show up in periodic intervals throughout the story, but I'll try not to let them become too distracting from the plot. It's safe to assume that over periods of time that I don't necessarily describe in detail Makoto is doing free time events with his other classmates.)


End file.
